Clocks Ticking
by laoisbabe
Summary: Weapons are stolen from a naval armoury. Gibbs and his team investigate. A bit of whumping ensues. Final Chapters up.
1. Chapter 1

"Gear up," the Boss hollered as he hung up his phone and pulled his desk drawer open and removed his weapon and badge from it.

"What've we got, Boss?" DiNozzo asked as he rounded his desk, backpack already on his shoulder.

"A dead M.P. Gas it up, DiNozzo," Gibbs ordered, tossing the keys of the truck to his senior agent.

"Where are we heading?" McGee asked as he followed the senior agent.

"Quantico armoury," Gibbs replied as the elevator door closed.

----------------------

There was a hive of activity around Quantico as the two NCIS trucks arrived. Gibbs disembarked swiftly and immediately sought out the senior officer on scene. Ziva, DiNozzo and McGee unpacked their gear and entered the cordoned off area at the front of the armoury. A Military Police vehicle was positioned across the front of the building, close to the main door. Both the passenger and driver's doors were wide open. Lying face down close to the passenger door was a uniformed military police officer. From the pool of congealed blood in which he lay, it was obvious that he had met a vicious and gory demise. The side of the vehicle was comparable to Swiss cheese, given the number of bullet holes that had peppered it.

Ziva raised her camera and carefully and diligently photographed the scene. McGee took notes and catalogued the dozens of spent casings that littered the area. DiNozzo noticed a pale and shaken looking M.P. being cared for by a paramedic at the rear of an ambulance just outside the police tape. He approached the paramedic and asked after the young man.

"Is he hurt?" DiNozzo enquired compassionately.

"Just shaken up," the paramedic replied. DiNozzo nodded and proceeded over to speak to the young police officer. He introduced himself.

"I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS. Do you think you could answer a few questions for me?"

The M.P. nodded and looked up at him his eyes telling of the horror he had just survived.

"Can you tell me how this went down?" Tony asked getting straight to the point.

""Yeah," the officer replied, taking a deep breath. "We got the call over the base radio. The alarm at the armoury was going off. We were pretty close by and were the first to arrive. As we pulled up, they were already leaving."

"They? How many?" Tony interrupted.

"Three, that I saw. Before we had even stopped the car, one of them opened up on us with an automatic weapon. Brandon, I mean Officer Slade, was hit before we stopped. Still he grabbed his weapon, got out of the car and returned fire. He never stood a chance. I was driving and he drew their fire so I could get out. I tried to reach back into the car to radio for help but the radio had been all shot up," he explained.

"Did you get a good look at the shooters?" Tony asked.

"Not really. I was too busy trying not to get my head blown off. Only one of them fired on us though. The other two were carrying out duffle bags. They just ran around the side of the building," he told him.

"Did they have a vehicle waiting around there?" Tony enquired.

"I think so. I didn't see it but I heard a vehicle speed away when the shooting stopped," he informed him.

"Did you go after them?"

"No, Sir! I was trying to see if I could help my partner," he explained forlornly.

"That's okay," Tony replied, touching the young man on the shoulder. "I'm sorry about your friend."

Officer Wesley James bit his quivering lip and bravely fought back the tears that were welling up in his eyes. DiNozzo felt his pain. He couldn't imagine losing one of his team. Sombrely, he returned to the scene.

Meanwhile Gibbs was inside the armoury talking to Lt. Commander Philip Harris.

"They knew what they were doing," the Commander told Gibbs.

"Can you tell what's missing yet?" Gibbs enquired.

"From initial inspection it looks like a number of Beretta 9mm, Glocks, at least one case of grenades and a number of high powered sniper rifles. The ammo store is missing some boxes too. I'll get a more detailed inventory to you as soon as I can," he promised

Gibbs looked around the room in which they stood. Some boxes and cabinets remained undisturbed, telling him that the raiders knew what they were looking for. They seemed to be pretty specific in what they took.

"I'll need a list of all personnel with access to this building," Gibbs said routinely.

"Of course. Do you think some of my men were involved, Agent Gibbs?"

"Could be. Looks like they knew what they wanted and where to find it," he explained, glancing around the room again. Just then McGee entered, carrying his camera and pack.

"Ducky's with the victim, Boss. I thought I'd get started in here," McGee said awkwardly, wondering whether he should have interrupted the Commander and Gibbs. He stood and looked at Gibbs waiting for some acknowledgement. Gibbs just glared back at him.

"Well, you waiting for an invitation, McGee?" Gibbs asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, Boss. I mean no Boss," McGee stammered as he turned and raised his camera towards the open cabinets. Gibbs smiled over at the Lt. Commander who also saw the humour of the moment.

Gibbs left the armoury, where McGee busied himself lifting prints and sifting through evidence. Gibbs found Ducky outside, kneeling over the body of the recently deceased M.P.

"Time of death, Duck?" he asked straight away, knowing it would wind Ducky up.

"Oh, Jethro. So impatient!!! Let me see, liver temp would indicate this gentleman died somewhere between 5 and 6 hours ago. And if you're going to ask me cause of death, I think it's pretty obvious, don't you?" Ducky said, referring to the multiple bullet wounds and large pool of blood in which he knelt. Gibbs nodded and smiled wryly at his old friend. They knew each others ways so well.

"Mr. Palmer can you get the gurney from the truck please?" Ducky asked his eager apprentice.

"Certainly Doctor," came the reply.

Gibbs looked up and saw DiNozzo walking around to the side of the building. He decided to follow him.

"DiNozzo!" he called as he got closer, giving Tony a start.

"Boss! The witness said he thought the raiders had a vehicle waiting for them around here. Thought I'd check it out," Tony explained.

"Was he able to give you much?" Gibbs asked, as they continued walking.

"He's pretty shaken up, Boss. All he could remember was seeing three guys, one did all the shooting, the others carried the loot I guess," Tony said allowing himself a little smile at the "loot" reference. He didn't get too many cases involving loot.

"Descriptions?"

"Negative. Males, average height, white, maybe Hispanic. He didn't get a good look. He was busy keeping his head down," DiNozzo explained.

Gibbs overtook DiNozzo and rounded the corner into the laneway which ran along side the armoury building. The first thing he noticed were tyre tracks on the asphalt. Someone had spun their tyres presumably leaving in a hurry. He followed the direction of the marks to the rear of the building. He looked across the road which ran behind the building and noticed further marks on the road where a vehicle had taken the right turn too fast and skidded.

"Take samples for Abby," Gibbs ordered, as he turned back towards where he had left Tony. DiNozzo was already crouched down, scraping samples of rubber from the first marks they had passed. Gibbs walked back towards the main scene. As he rounded the corner, he could see Ducky and Palmer loading the body in to their truck. He walked over in their direction. Ducky waved over to him as he closed up the rear o the truck.

"See you back there, Jethro!"

Gibbs raised his arm in acknowledgement as his friend hopped into the truck and drove away.

_TBC_


	2. Chapter 2

It was late by the time the rest of the team returned to NCIS headquarters. McGee and Tony carried the boxes of evidence down to Abby's lab. Despite the late hour, Abby was there, waiting patiently for them to return. Her music was turned up and she was furiously doing her thing over at her computer station.

"Abby!" DiNozzo called. No response. "Abby!!" he called walking up closer to her. "Abs!" he yelled into her ear, causing her to turn around suddenly and thump him on the chest.

"Ow!"

"Tony, don't sneak up on me like that," she chided.

"But I tried …..," Tony attempted to explain but then knew there was little point. "Sorry."

McGee couldn't help but smile. Tony caught him and glared back at him almost Gibbs-esque.

"Oooh! What have you guys brought me then?" Abby asked as she rummaged through the boxes.

"Finger prints, shell casings …" McGee began before being rudely interrupted by Tony.

"And rubbers … well rubber samples that is," he added with childish overtones.

"Oh Tony, sometimes I worry about you," Abby sighed and shook her head. Tony's grin turned to a sheepish smile.

"C'mon Probie, we've got work to do too," he said deciding it was best to leave Abby to her own devices.

Gibbs, meanwhile, was up in Director Vance's office giving him an update on their latest case.

"The Master at Arms just sent this list for you, Agent Gibbs. It's the complete inventory of everything that is missing," Vance announced, handing the list to Gibbs.

Gibbs rooted in his jacket for his reading glasses and then scanned down the list. Berettas, M40A3's, MP5's, M67 hand grenades, quite a haul he thought to himself.

"In the wrong hands these could do a lot of damage," he commented.

"Then you understand the urgency of recovering these weapons, Agent Gibbs and getting those responsible," Vance acknowledged.

Gibbs nodded in agreement. He hated when Vance stated the obvious. He turned on his heels to leave the office and get back to work.

"Keep me appraised, Gibbs," Vance called as he left.

Gibbs returned to the squad room. His team were busy, or at least they looked busy he thought.

"The Director wants those weapons off the streets ASAP. What've we got?" he asked as he sat at his desk.

"McGee's been going through base security tapes for around the time of the shooting. He found this," DiNozzo said, pointing to a picture still on the plasma screen. "Grey transit van going through an intersection about five minutes after the shooting. We're running the plates now. McGee and Abby are going to see if they can get a clearer image from the traffic cam picture. Hopefully we'll have a picture of the driver."

"Good work. Anything on the list of personnel with access?" Gibbs wondered turning towards Ziva.

"Nothing jumping out," Ziva replied. "I'm still going through it."

"Keep at it," he replied before he stood up and marched through the bullpen towards the elevator on his way to autopsy.

"Ah, Jethro. I don't have results for you yet," Ducky said as soon as he entered.

Gibbs stood over the autopsy table where the M.P.'s body lay. Such a waste, he thought as he looked down on yet another life cut short. He could see four obvious wounds on the officer's torso.

"What do we know about him, Duck?" he asked the aging medical examiner.

"Thirty eight years old, married with two kids. He's been a military policeman since 1998 according to his file. Exemplary service record. Poor fellow, any one of those wounds could have killed him. He didn't stand a chance," Ducky explained as he stood beside Jethro.

"Ballistics?" Gibbs asked.

"Sent up to Abby," Ducky replied.

"Good. Thanks Duck. Give me a call..,"

"I know, as soon as I have results. Don't I always, Jethro?" Ducky interrupted.

Gibbs smiled and nodded as the sliding door to autopsy closed behind him. Gibbs returned to the squad room. Realising how late it was he sent the team home to get some rest. There wasn't much else they could do until morning and he would rather they were fresh and thinking straight to get on top of this case.

When the team arrived in the next morning, Gibbs was already at his desk. He was still wearing the same clothes as he had been the day before so they were pretty certain that he had spent the night there. The collection of empty coffee cups that littered his desk told their own story.

The team spent the morning following leads and researching backgrounds of personnel who had access to the armoury. Gibbs was called up to MTAC by Vance close to lunchtime. Shortly after that, Gibbs hurried down the stairs.

"Grab your gear," he called as he leaned over his desk and took out his weapon and badge.

"What've we got, Boss?" Tony decided to ask, seeing as no one else dared.

"Sniper fire in a public park downtown. Could be someone trying out one of our missing M40A3's."

"Casualties?" Ziva asked.

"Two confirmed hits maybe more," Gibbs announced as he called the elevator.

--------------------------

As they arrived at the scene, the area was buzzing with police, fire department and ambulance personnel. Chaos reigned. It appeared that the emergency services were being prevented from getting any closer to the park. Gibbs drove right up to the road block and showed his I.D. to the officer on point duty.

"What's the problem, Officer?" Gibbs asked out of courtesy.

"We can't confirm if the sniper is still in position, Sir. Until the area is secured, I am ordered not to let anyone pass," he explained.

"We need to get through right now," Gibbs shouted, not having any of it.

"Well I'll have to check," the officer stammered.

"Yeah, you do that," Gibbs snarled as he continued past the baffled officer.

"You heard the man, the area's not secure. Vests on, now!" he ordered his charges as he drove the car into the parking area, just outside the park gates. Gibbs stepped out of the car and took his Kevlar vest from the trunk and pulled it on. He put his NCIS wind breaker on over the vest. Then he approached an officer who was crouching alone by the gates of the park. He produced his ID and showed it to the officer.

"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. Do you have eyes on the shooter?" he asked immediately.

"No Sir. Shots came from that direction," he said pointing to an area west of their position. "We have officers sweeping those buildings over there. Our orders are not to let civilians in until we have word that the area is secure."

"What? There could be people alive in there. For God's sake, the shooter could be up to mile away. A search could take hours. It could be too late for anyone who might be injured out there," Gibbs shouted in disbelief. "Do you even know how many are alive?"

"Not really, Sir. You can see two down there and another over there," he said pointing to an open area to their left. "Can't see any others."

Gibbs turned away, making no effort to hide his disgust at the Police Department's lack of action. He marched back to where his team were waiting.

"DiNozzo, binoculars!" he ordered as he turned back and faced the park.

Tony trotted to the trunk and produced the binoculars and handed them to Gibbs.

"McGee, get in touch with Abby. I want eyes on the roofs of all buildings west of this park, two mile radius. Now McGee!" he shouted, causing McGee to burst into action.

Gibbs raised the binoculars and scanned the park. He could see the three victims that the police officer had mentioned. There was no movement. They were probably too late to help them. He trained the binoculars in the direction of the playground. He could see a child's buggy abandoned close to a park bench. Then something caught his attention. There was definite movement in the bushes close to the sandpit. He strained to get a better view of what he was looking at. Then he saw the blonde hair and the arm of a denim jacket reach out and grab a toddler who was straining to get back to the swings.

"There's a child out there," he shouted to the officer. "Behind the bushes, a woman and child."

The police officer shrugged, as if to say "what do you want me to do about it". Gibbs was infuriated by his cavalier attitude. If the officer wasn't going to do something about it, he damn well was. He couldn't just stand by and wait for a child to run into the sights of a sniper.

"I need another vest," Gibbs announced as he turned to face his team.

"What are you going to do, Gibbs?" Ziva asked, removing hers.

"I'm going to get them outta there," he replied as a matter of fact.

"Eh, Boss, do you think that's a good idea?" Tony dared to question.

Gibbs didn't answer. He was already focusing on his objective. Tony knew there was no point in even trying to stop him.

"Keep your head down, Boss," DiNozzo shouted as Gibbs jogged confidently towards the gates of the park. The police officer looked at him but said nothing to try and stop him. Gibbs stood at the pillar of the park gates and looked at the route he would have to take to get to the mother and child. He could follow the path which would provide him with some cover for about 80 metres. From there he would have to cross over 60 metres of open ground to get to where they were hiding.

He set off at pace, crouching down, moving swiftly from tree to tree until he reached the end of the tree line. So far so good. He now had a better view of the woman and child. The woman was no more than a child herself, maybe 16 he thought. The child with her was a little boy, eager and energetic and dying to get back to play. The girl was doing her utmost to keep the little guy happy and calm. Then she raised her head and saw Gibbs. He signalled to her to stay down. Thankfully she understood and did just that.

Gibbs glanced to the west and looked up at the sea of buildings visible to him from where he stood. The sniper could be in any one of them. He knew that no time was a good time to do this so he just took a deep breath and set off across the open ground as fast as he could. Using his marine training, he zigged and zagged his way across the grass until he reached the bushes. He slid to a halt beside the young girl, relieved that he had made it.

"Hi, I'm Special Agent Gibbs. Are you guys alright?" he asked the frightened teen.

"We're okay," she replied, still holding on to the struggling child.

"What's your name?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm Annie Berkov and this is my little brother Jake," she told him.

"Hey, kiddo," Gibbs said, taking the little boy and handing him his shield and badge hoping to distract him for a minute.

"Annie, I need you to put this on for me. It's a special vest to protect you. I'm going to get you out of here, okay?" he explained, trying to reassure Annie. She nodded nervously.

"Right, Annie, when I tell you, I want you to run as fast as you can to that tree over there, okay? I'll carry Jake," he told her.

"I'm scared," Annie admitted, tears forming in her frightened eyes.

"I know you are, kid. It's okay to be scared but I promise I won't let anything happen to you or Jake," Gibbs promised pulling her close to him. He would never admit it but he was feeling a little scared himself. The lives of these kids were in his hands. He took one last look around the park and then he saw DiNozzo over at trees waiting for him. He felt better knowing that he wasn't alone. DiNozzo had his six, always did. Tony gave Gibbs a thumbs up and Gibbs gave a slight wave back. It was now or never.

"Okay, Annie, are you ready?" Gibbs asked, squeezing her arm.

"Yeah," she replied, looking into his face.

Gibbs got to his feet into a crouching position. He positioned himself between Annie and the buildings to the west. He lifted Jake onto his hip between Annie and himself, so that his body would act as a shield.

"C'mon. Run!!" he shouted as he sets off in the direction of the trees.

Annie ran as fast as she could. Gibbs slowed his pace so that she didn't fall behind. DiNozzo watched with baited breath as the trio ran towards him. It was like watching a movie in slow motion. Then he heard the shot. He automatically looked in the direction of the buildings but saw nothing. He turned back to see Gibbs' stride falter. Annie screamed but kept running. Gibbs stumbled and fell face forward onto the grass. Jake dropped from his grasp and rolled away, crying.

Tony couldn't believe what had happened. He was spurred into action. Without a second thought he hurried into the open and urged Annie to keep running. He ran and scooped up Jake. Gibbs was lying unconscious in front of him and he desperately wanted to check on him but knew the kids had to be his priority. With Jake under his arm like a football and a sickly feeling in his gut he left his Boss and ran back to the cover of the trees.

_More to come. Please R & R......_


	3. Chapter 3

Meanwhile Ziva and McGee looked on from the parking lot. McGee was still talking to Abby, trying to narrow down the list of buildings which the sniper could be using. Ziva was watching Tony and Gibbs through the binoculars as they attempted to rescue the children from the playground. When the shot rang out, McGee suddenly stopped talking mid sentence and looked up. Ziva froze momentarily then screamed.

"Oh God. Gibbs is hit," she roared as she ran towards the gates of the park.

McGee's sharp intake of breath alerted Abby that something had happened.

"McGee! McGee, are you there? What's going on?" she demanded. McGee was stunned and straining to see what had happened.

"McGee, what's wrong?" she asked again impatiently.

"I think Gibbs is down," McGee replied slowly, as if he didn't believe it himself.

"Down? What do you mean down?" Abby replied not wanting to accept the colloquial use of the term.

"I mean he's been shot Abby."

"Shot? Gibbs? Oh no. No. No. No. He's alright though, isn't he McGee?" Abby said, trying to make sense of the news.

"I hope so Abs. I saw him put his vest on, but so far, he's not moving. Hang on, Tony's coming. He's got the kids," McGee told her.

"Tony!" McGee shouted. Tony looked over, the worry etched on his face.

"Look after them. I'm going back for Gibbs," Tony said pushing the kids towards McGee.

"Is he….?" McGee began to ask.

"I don't know," Tony cut him off. "I don't know."

Tony jogged back to the park and down the tree lined path. He reached the last tree and could see Gibbs motionless body lying in the open. He took one glance in the direction of the sniper and then set off across the open space at pace. Gibbs was only about twenty metres from the cover of the trees so he hadn't far to go. DiNozzo quickly reached him and took hold of the back of his jacket collar and dragged him unceremoniously back into the relative safety of the trees. Once under cover, Tony dropped to his knees beside Gibbs. He rolled him over and felt for a pulse. He was extremely relieved, firstly, that there was one and secondly, that it was pretty strong. Then he noticed the blood on Gibbs right arm. He carefully removed Gibbs' jacket to try and see where the blood was coming from. In the moments it had taken him to remove it, Gibbs began to stir.

"Easy, Boss. You've been shot," Tony warned, holding him down.

"Jake, where's Jake?" he asked in a pained voice, looking around and trying to sit up.

"He's okay, Gibbs. Both of them are. They're with McGee. Where are you hurting, Boss?" Tony asked.

"My chest and arm. Help me up, DiNozzo," Gibbs asked his senior agent, reaching out to him.

"Maybe you should lie here for a while, get your breath back," Tony suggested.

Gibbs just glared back at Tony and began to struggle to his feet alone. Tony had little choice but to help him. Gibbs stood up and swayed visibly. Tony grabbed stronger hold of him. Gibbs remained slightly hunched as it hurt too much to straighten up. With Tony's help, he made it back to the car. Ziva and McGee rushed to help them.

"Gibbs, are you alright?" McGee asked eagerly.

"Fine McGee. Where are the kids?"

"Over there with Metro officers. They're getting in touch with their parents," Ziva explained.

"Good," Gibbs replied, pain evident on his face as he leaned his backside against the hood of the car.

"Ziva, get one of those paramedics over here now," DiNozzo ordered impatiently. Ziva didn't argue, despite Tony's rudeness. Gibbs was the priority. She ran over past the police cordon and spoke to the paramedics.

"Eh, Boss?" McGee stammered nervously.

"Yeah, McGee," Gibbs snapped crossly.

"Will you tell Abby that you're okay? She won't take my word for it," he said, handing Gibbs the cell phone. Gibbs took it in his left hand.

"I'm fine, Abs," Gibbs spoke confidently.

"Oh Gibbs. Don't ever do that to me again. I didn't know what to think. I had images in my mind, horrible, horrible images. Don't you ever …"

"Abs, I gotta go. Later, okay?" Gibbs cut her off. He handed the cell back to McGee.

"Give me a hand to get this off," Gibbs said to Tony, referring to his Kevlar vest. Carefully DiNozzo undid the Velcro straps and eased the vest from the injured agent.

"Oooo, look at that," DiNozzo commented, directing attention to the bullet lodged in the plate that had protected Gibbs chest. "Another inch to the right and you were in serious trouble, Boss. Now let me see that arm," DiNozzo said looking at Gibbs upper arm which was bleeding quite heavily. Gibbs had been staunching it using his left hand for the past few minutes. He removed his hand revealing a nasty wound through his bicep.

"You're lucky. A through and through. Looks like it went through your arm and lodged in the vest," DiNozzo surmised.

"Ya think, DiNozzo?" Gibbs replied in his usual fashion.

At this point Ziva returned accompanied by a paramedic. Gibbs allowed the paramedic to examine the entry and exit wounds in his arm. McGee turned away as the extent of the flesh injury was made visible to all. He wasn't good with blood and gore. Gibbs on the other hand barely flinched as the wound was disinfected and dressed.

"You'll need to come to the E.R. and have it looked at by a doctor, Agent Gibbs," the paramedic advised. "It's bleeding quite a bit. You should probably get a plastics consult as well."

"Just patch it up for now, I have work to do," Gibbs replied, having none of it. With that Gibbs stood up from the hood of the car. As he did, his breath was taken away as a burning pain erupted in his chest.

"Are you injured somewhere else?" the paramedic enquired, seeing Gibbs reaction.

"His ribs," Tony answered before Gibbs could say he was alright. He received a daggered glare for his troubles.

"Will you raise your shirt, Agent Gibbs, so I can examine you?" the paramedic asked, half afraid of the man.

With his uninjured hand he lifted his polo shirt. There was a black circular bruise on the right side of his chest. A ripple of purple and red bruises extended lower down his ribcage. The paramedic felt along Gibbs chest, checking for fractures. Gibbs held his breath as he did so.

"I can't feel any fracture but without an x-ray I can't be sure. I really must insist that you come to the E.R.," the paramedic repeated.

Gibbs had no intention of spending the next few hours waiting around in an Emergency Room. He looked around at the worried expressions of his team and then back at the paramedic.

"How about a compromise?" he suggested. "You patch me up and if the pain gets any worse I'll go to the hospital."

"Well, I can't force you to come with me. If you don't I'll need you to sign this, stating that you declined hospital treatment," the paramedic replied, handing Gibbs a release form. Gibbs took it and signed it and handed it back to a defeated paramedic.

"DiNozzo, you drive," Gibbs ordered as he stiffly walked to the passenger side of the car. McGee and Ziva exchanged glances before sitting in the back.

"Where to, Boss?" Tony asked.

"Abby's lab," Gibbs replied.

**_TBC_**


	4. Chapter 4

On the drive back to NCIS, Tony noticed Gibbs shifting uncomfortably in the seat a few times. When they arrived back in the garage, Gibbs was the last one out of the car. Ziva noticed the change in his breathing as he swung his legs out of the car and struggled to stand. She offered her hand to help him out and she was more than a little surprised when he actually accepted her assistance. Tony and McGee exchanged glances but knew better than to pass any comment. Tony leaned his head forward towards the retina scanner and then held the elevator as the doors opened. Gibbs and Ziva followed. Tony noticed that as Gibbs walked he was pretty steady on his feet but was visibly keeping his right arm tight against his chest, guarding his right side.

They took the elevator up and headed straight to Abby's lab.

"Hey, Abs, brought you a present," Tony announced shaking the container holding the bullet he had taken from Gibbs' vest. Abby turned and ran straight past him.

"Gibbs!" she shouted, brushing past Tony and throwing her arms around Gibbs' neck. He staggered backward and was only saved from toppling over by McGee's quick reactions.

"Woah, easy Abby. The Boss has had a rough day," McGee warned.

"Oh Gibbs, I'm sorry. I'm just so happy you're alright. You are alright, aren't you?" she asked excitedly.

"Just a bit sore, Abs. I'll be fine. Anything for me, Abs?" he asked, trying to disguise the pain in his voice.

"Well, yeah. While you were off getting yourself shot I was a busy little bee. I have been able to narrow down the number of possible sniper points, taking into account the range of the missing sniper rifles, location of the victims, local infrastructure. I have it narrowed down to 17 buildings with the height requirement to make the shot. All in this area," she explained, bringing up a map of the area west of the public park.

Gibbs walked over and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Nice job, Abby."

Abby grinned broadly. She loved when Gibbs showed his appreciation of her efforts. The only thing that topped a Gibbs peck on the cheek was a Kaf Pow and a peck on the cheek.

DiNozzo followed Gibbs back to the squad room. McGee and Ziva followed a few minutes later. Gibbs was on the phone to Vance when they sat down, arranging for a few more agents to assist in their search of the buildings. Vance was expressing his concerns regarding Gibbs fitness for duty. Gibbs maintained that he was fine and more than capable of continuing the investigation. Vance insisted that he see Ducky before going back out in the field. Despite Gibbs protestations, Vance got his way. Ducky phoned Gibbs almost immediately after Vance had hung up.

"Jethro, I believe you've been in the wars. The director insists that I take a look at you, so be a good fellow and pop down, will you?" Ducky asked.

"I guess I don't have a choice, Duck. On my way," Gibbs replied, knowing he wasn't going to get out of it. Tentativey, he stood up from his desk and made his way down to autopsy where Ducky was waiting for him.

"Ah, Jethro. What sort of trouble have you been getting yourself into today?" Ducky asked, knowing right well what had happened.

"The usual," Gibbs replied, smiling at his old friend.

"You'd better sit up on that table for me. Take off your jacket," Ducky said, tapping one of his sterile autopsy tables. Gibbs tried to climb up onto it and his discomfort at doing so was blatantly obvious to Ducky.

"Have you broken ribs Jethro? The pain you're in would suggest that you have. Let me have a look then," Ducky suggested, lifting Gibbs shirt and seeing the bruising. "That looks painful."

"It is," Gibbs replied honestly.

"Mr. Palmer, will you bring in the portable x-ray please. I need to check Agent Gibbs' ribs," Ducky called over to his young assistant.

"Certainly, Doctor," Jimmy replied.

"Okay, Jethro, now I want to see that wound," he said, referring to the bullet wounds on his upper arm. He took out a scissors and carefully cut away the dressing which had been applied by the paramedic. Gibbs winced as the dressing was pulled away.

"Oh my!" Ducky declared, as he examined the wound. "That looks nasty. Entry and exit wound. Lucky for you it appears to have missed the bone. It's still oozing blood Jethro. You really should have it immobilised. I'll re-bandage it for you and give you a sling. That should do the trick. I'll prescribe some antibiotics for you. The last thing you'll need is that getting infected."

"Thanks, Duck!" Gibbs replied, getting off the table and reaching for his jacket.

"Where are you going?" Ducky asked. "I'm not finished with you yet. X-ray, remember?"

Gibbs sighed. This was a waste of time. He felt fine. Well, almost fine. He needed coffee. And he needed to find those weapons. Then he could take some time to heal. Palmer eventually returned with the portable x-ray. Ducky set it up and snapped a few shots of Jethro's chest. After examining the films, Ducky calls Gibbs over to look at the x-ray.

"You see that line, Jethro. That's a hairline fracture. It will be painful for a while but it will heal on it's own," Ducky informed him.

"Good. Then I can go, thanks Duck," Gibbs replied, turning to leave.

"Well, you really should rest, Jethro. You've been through quite a bit today," Ducky said as Jethro exited the doors of autopsy. Ducky called him back.

"Your sling, Jethro," Ducky insisted he immobilise his arm. He fitted the sling for Gibbs.

"Now you're good to go," Ducky said as Gibbs thanked him and made a swift exit intent on getting back to work. When he marched back into the squad room, Tony raised his head and had to ask.

"What did Ducky say?"

Gibbs ignored the question and got straight back to business.

"Have you assigned teams to search those buildings yet?" Gibbs asked his senior agent.

"Yes, Boss," Tony replied.

"Let's get to it then," Gibbs said to the room, spurring them into action. He and McGee made up one team. DiNozzo and Ziva made up another. As it happened they were both assigned buildings on the same street on the same block. One of the buildings looked like it had been a grand hotel in its day. The other looked like it used to be an office block. Ziva and Tony took the office block while Gibbs and McGee took the abandoned hotel.

Tony and Ziva enter the office building via the main door. The ground floor is open plan, no furniture left behind. All that stood to one side was what they presumed used to be the reception desk. After a sweep of the ground floor, they continued on to the upper floors.

Meanwhile McGee and Gibbs entered the vacant hotel building from the side entrance. As soon as they enter, Gibbs pointed to footprints in the dust on the floor. They both reached for their weapons, their anticipation of danger heightened. Gibbs removed his arm from the sling, he didn't need anything impeding him in this type of situation. Once they were satisfied that the ground floor was clear, the agents proceeded up the stairs to the other floors. They searched the building floor by floor being careful to make as little noise as possible. As they climbed the stairs to the third floor, Gibbs noticed that the wood was rotten in places and that the structure of the stairs was coming away from the wall. It was very unstable. The further up they went, the worse it got.

"Eh, Boss, maybe we shouldn't go any further. It doesn't look very stable," McGee said quietly.

"You're right. Stay here," Gibbs ordered.

"But Boss," McGee began to argue until Gibbs put his hand up to signal him to be quiet.

Gibbs continued up the stairs, keep tight against the wall, weapon aimed above him all the time. He reached the landing and slowly tested the creaking floorboards. He could see four rooms off this landing. There are no doors on the hinges, probably been removed and sold at some stage. Gibbs stealthily checked each one. They were all clear. In a low voice, he spoke into his radio to inform McGee of this.

Gibbs was about to begin his ascent up the stairs to the fourth floor when a shot rang out and a bullet hit the wall close to his ear. He dived for cover, scrambling back into one of the rooms. McGee heard the shot and immediately called Gibbs on the radio.

"Boss, are you alright?" he called desperately.

Gibbs didn't respond. He was too busy listening to footsteps on the floor above him. He decided to approach the stairs one again. He stood up painfully straightening his aching body and then he heard something rolling down the steps of the stairs towards him. Then it landed on the floor. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, grenades, not one but three. He turned on his heels and dived back into one of the rooms trying to get as far away as he possibly could. He lay on his stomach, put his hands over his head and waited for the inevitable blast.

_**TBC**_


	5. Chapter 5

He didn't have to wait long. The three blasts came almost in unison. The concussion was mind numbing. Shrapnel tore through the paper thin walls and peppered the room where he sought cover. Heat and dust filled the room as he lay there, momentarily stunned by the blast. His ears continued ringing as he slowly regained his senses. He got to his feet as the dust settled, only then did he realise how much his chest hurt. Coughing and choking on the dust he staggered to the doorway. He trained his weapon on the hallway. He quickly realised that the stairs had disappeared. He was about to step into the hallway when he saw the gaping hole in the floor. He almost lost his footing and only just avoided stumbling through it. Only then did it register with him that he hadn't heard from McGee.

"McGee, can you hear me?" he shouted into his radio. There was no reply. He wasn't sure if his radio was working or if because of the constant buzzing in his ears, that he just couldn't hear him. He put his hands up to his ears and felt blood oozing from the left one.

"Tim!" he shouted though the hole in the floor. He bent down but couldn't see any sign of him. All that could be seen was rubble, fallen plaster and parts of the stairs. He knew he had to get down there. His agent could be hurt.

In the neighbouring building, the vibrations and noise from the explosion stopped Tony and Ziva in their tracks.

"What the hell was that?" DiNozzo asked, already knowing the answer.

"Felt like an explosion," Ziva replied.

"Gibbs! McGee! Come in!" Tony shouted into his radio. He waited with baited breath for a reply. None came. He tried again. Still no answer. He tried McGee's cell phone but it went straight to voice mail.

At that stage he was already on his way down the stairs of the office building, heading for the door. Ziva was calling for back up and reported the explosion to MTAC. They emerged from the building running and sped towards the old hotel which had smoke and dust billowing from the third and fourth floor windows. On entering, Tony yelled Gibbs name, which echoed through the building, but he got no response. Noting that there was no blast damage on the ground floor, Tony found the stairs and climbed it two steps at a time to the upper floors. Soon he and Ziva emerged on the third floor and knew that they were in the right place straight away. Evidence of a serious blast covered the floors. Then Ziva noticed Gibbs hanging by his arms from a hole above them where the ceiling used to be. Then as she watched he suddenly let go and dropped onto the pile of rubble underneath. He landed feet first but quickly lost his balance on the uneven surface and tumbled backwards and landed on his back. Tony rushed to his aid.

"Boss, are you hurt?" Tony asked, noticing the blood on his face.

Gibbs could see Tony'slips moving but couldn't make out what he is saying.

"McGee. Where's McGee?" Gibbs shouted frantically, fear evident in his eyes.

"I haven't seen him, Boss," Tony replied. "I thought he was …."

"He was down here before the explosion. Find him, DiNozzo!" Gibbs ordered, getting shakily to his feet.

"McGee!" he called frantically checking under pieces of rubble and plaster on the ground. Tony and Ziva scanned what was left of the room.

"Over there," Ziva shouted as she spotted a leg protruding from under a beam of wood which she presumed came from the floor above.

Tony and Gibbs rushed over and clawed their way to him, pulling debris from his body. Gibbs felt sick to his stomach upon seeing his junior agent lying face down, covered in dust and blood, apparently dead. Gibbs hesitated while Tony reached his colleague and knelt beside him. He felt for a pulse. Both Ziva and Gibbs held their breaths.

"He's alive," Tony announced with a sigh of relief.

With that, Gibbs legs weakened and he dropped to his knees. As the last shots of adrenaline vacated his body, he remained on his hands and knees, head down, trying to take enough air to stop him from passing out. Ziva put her hands tenderly on his shoulders, something she'd never done before she realised, but he needed consolation.

"Paramedics will be here soon, Gibbs. He'll be alright," she told him, trying to offer some morsel of comfort. She was unaware that he couldn't hear her. He raised his head and looked up through the hole.

"They're still here," he said.

"Who?" Ziva asked, somewhat perplexed. Gibbs didn't answer. Only then did Ziva realise that there was blood coming from his ears which probably meant he wasn't hearing her. She came around in front of him, held his face in her hands and looked him in the eyes.

"Who?" she repeated.

"The bombers, godammit! They're on the upper floors. They have to be. I don't think there's another way out of here," he shouted in frustration.

"Back up is on it's way. Chances are their only way out is through here. They won't get by, I promise," she mouthed slowly, hoping he could understand. He nodded and returned his attention to McGee. He still wasn't moving. He watched how Tony talked to him and gently touched his fallen partner. Gibbs couldn't help but feel responsible. He was startled by the paramedics when they arrived as he hadn't heard the sirens or their footsteps. One of them immediately started to work on McGee. Then much to his frustration, another began examining him.

"I'm okay, look after him," he snapped, swiping away the paramedic's arm from his head.

"Sir, you're bleeding and I need to see from where," the paramedic insisted. "My partner is looking after your friend. He's in good hands."

Gibbs eventually relented and allowed himself to be taken downstairs to the waiting ambulance. By the time they got outside, there was several Metro PD cars and ambulances on the street. He sat on the step at the rear of the vehicle as the paramedic cleaned and dressed his wounds. They were mostly superficial. Ziva stayed with him. They watched as a SWAT team entered the building to search for the perpetrators. Gibbs really wanted to be part of that search but he knew deep down that at that moment he wasn't physically able. It felt like every sinew in his body ached. He watched as Ziva answered her cell phone beside him. He hadn't even heard it ring. She hung up soon after and sat down next him. Using her hands she turned his face towards hers.

"That was Abby. She wanted to know what was going on. I told her about McGee and that you were okay," she explained slowly, hoping he could understand her. Gibbs smiled and nodded.

"Thanks," he said, allowing his eyes to linger on hers for a moment longer than he would normally. She noticed this but thought nothing of it. The moment was interrupted by the commotion as the paramedics brought McGee out on a stretcher. Tony walked alongside Tim's head, looking down, worried about his friend. Gibbs could see his look of anxiety. He stood up and walked over to the group.

"How is he?" he asked.

"He took a hard knock to the head. They're worried about his lack of response. I told them that wasn't unusual in Probie's case," Tony replied trying to lighten the moment yet not taking his eyes off his friend. Gibbs couldn't make out what he had said. He didn't need to. He could see for himself. McGee was still unconscious. A large gash on the back of his head had been covered by a dressing. There were other cuts and gashes on Tim's extremities. Gibbs prayed the young agent would be alright. He had to be. He watched as they loaded him into the ambulance. Tony approached Gibbs and suggested that he ride to the hospital with McGee.

"We'll follow behind," DiNozzo said as he helped Gibbs climb into the ambulance. Then he slammed the doors and the ambulance took off with its precious load. Gibbs was oblivious to the sirens as they blared during their ride to the hospital. He sat looking at McGee. If it wasn't for the oxygen mask on his face, he could just be sleeping, Gibbs thought. The ambulance ground to a halt and the rear doors burst open. There was a flurry of activity and McGee was unloaded and wheeled into the E.R. Gibbs walked alongside his fallen charge until he was stopped by a doctor who told him that he would have to wait outside. Gibbs stared blankly at him, not hearing or understanding why he was being stopped. His first instinct was to lash out and push the doctor out of his way. At that point hospital security was called, by which time Ziva and Tony had arrived and quickly intervened. Tony used all his charm to avoid an issue being made of Gibbs' behaviour and explained that his Boss was in need of medical attention himself. Ziva, meanwhile, tried to calm Gibbs down. Soon after, the nursing staff escorted Gibbs to a curtained area where he waited to be seen. A nurse helped him remove his bloodied shirt and gave him a hospital gown to wear. Tony and Ziva sat with him while he waited to be examined.

And they waited.

_**More to come if you want. Please R & R.**_


	6. Chapter 6

And still they waited for news.

When the resident doctor arrived he examined Gibbs' wounds. He also took a closer look at Gibbs ears and diagnosed a ruptured ear drum in his left ear. His right ear drum was damaged but the ear drum hadn't perforated. There was slight inner ear damage. He explained to Tony and Ziva that his hearing would return to normal. It could take hours or days, he couldn't be sure. He told them that he might also experience problems with his balance for a few days because of the damage to his inner ear. Further examination of Gibbs revealed the cracked rib that Ducky had noticed and severe bruising of the ribs on his right side. In the course of cleaning up the remaining cuts and grazes, the doctor also removed a small piece of shrapnel from the rear of Gibbs thigh. Gibbs remained surprisingly co-operative throughout his treatment, much to Tony's surprise. He hadn't spoken much to them since they'd arrived at the hospital and this worried Tony. He knew that Gibbs would be blaming himself for what had happened to McGee. Tony desperately wanted to console Gibbs and tell him that he wasn't to blame but he knew it wouldn't be appreciated. IN a strange sort of way, he was relieved when Abby and Ducky arrived at the hospital and found them.

Abby was a bundle of nervous energy even more so than usual. She was thankful that Gibbs was alive but terribly worried about McGee. After hugging Gibbs, Abby began vehemently communicating with Gibbs via sign language. The others didn't need to know sign language to understand that she was chiding him for taking more risks. Gibbs made a singular signed response – an apology. She hugged him again and then asked to see McGee. Ducky promised to find out what the situation was and disappeared for a short while. When he returned, Jethro sat up straighter on the gurney in anticipation of what Ducky was about to tell them.

"Timothy has just had a head CT and it confirms that there is no skull fracture but there is some swelling on the brain. He remains unconscious so they will closely monitor him for the next few hours. We'll be allowed up to see him shortly," Ducky informed the team. Gibbs released a sigh of relief audible to the room.

"So, how are you feeling Jethro?" Ducky asked the shattered looking agent.

"I'll be fine Duck. My ears are still ringing but at least I'm starting to hear again. Did they say when I could get out of here?" Gibbs asked impatiently, getting off the bed and searching for his clothes.

"No they didn't but I would presume after what you've been through that you'll be kept in at least one night for observation," Ducky replied.

"I can't stay here!" Gibbs protested. "They're still out there and I'm going to find them."

"Eh, Boss, I might have neglected to tell you that the Metro SWAT team arrested one guy at the scene after we left," Tony informed him, trying to ignore the fiery glare that was being thrown in his direction by Gibbs. "He was holed up on the top floor. Looks like he was alone. They have handed him over to NCIS for interrogation."

"Did they find all the weapons?" Gibbs asked eagerly.

"Don't think so Boss," DiNozzo replied, knowing it wasn't what he wanted or needed to hear.

"Well, come on DiNozzo. We need to talk to this guy," Gibbs said, pulling back on his bloodied shirt and jacket. Ducky began to protest.

"Jethro, I don't think it's a good idea for you to go straight back to work. You look exhausted. It's late. You really should rest," Ducky pleaded.

"I promise I'll rest, Duck, after I've had a little chat with this guy," Gibbs promised, as he sorely straightened up to leave. Ducky and the team exchanged helpless glances. They knew when Gibbs made up his mind, there was no swaying him. As Gibbs made his way to the reception desk to sign himself out, Ducky took Ziva to one side.

"I'll stay here with Timothy for a while. Keep and eye on him, Ziva," he asked more than a little concerned for his friend. "Try and make sure he gets some sleep or he'll be back here before he knows it."

"I'll will, Ducky," Ziva vowed knowing that she would have a job on her hands.

Ziva trotted after Gibbs and DiNozzo. They retrieved Tony's car from the hospital parking lot and returned to the Navy Yard. As they entered the viewing room next to the interview room, they walked into Director Vance.

"I didn't expect to see you back here today Agent Gibbs," he said genuinely surprised. "You don't have to be here. Go home and get some rest. You look crap," he commented, looking at the dust covered, bloodied clothing Gibbs still sported.

Gibbs tilted his head slightly to the side and smiled sarcastically. "Thanks Leon. It hasn't been one of my better days. Has he said anything?" Gibbs enquired, looking through the glass.

"Not to Metro PD anyway. He's their prisoner but they're letting us interview him about the missing weapons. The sniper rifle he used has been confirmed as one of the ones stolen from Quantico yesterday," Leon explained.

"Let me talk to him," Gibbs suggested, turning to leave the room with every intention of entering the interview room.

"I don't think so, Agent Gibbs. Agent DiNozzo, would you mind doing this interview?" Vance asked a stunned DiNozzo. Tony didn't know what to say. He looked at Gibbs, who looked none too impressed and then back at Vance. Tony hummed and hawed for a minute. Then he looked at Gibbs again who nodded his approval to Tony.

"Sure," he finally answered. Vance glanced over at Gibbs, looked him up and down but said nothing. Gibbs noticed but let on he didn't. He knew he could trust Tony in there. He had faith in his ability to get the suspect to talk, even if his approach was very different to his own.

The suspect's name was Peter Sheldon. He had no apparent ties to the military but according to Metro's files, he had a criminal record. Nothing major on that record, just petty larceny, an assault charge which was subsequently dropped and drugs possession. He had suspected ties to a D.C. gang but none that he'd admit to.

"So, where'd you get the gun, Peter?" Tony asked, after he had allowed the suspect to be lulled into a false sense of security. Tony's cheesy smile vanished and his demeanour changed noticeably. The suspect sensed the change in his mood. Still he said nothing.

"You know Peter, it's late and I've had a heck of day. My friend's laying in the hospital, my Boss was shot, ooh yea, and almost blown up by you, and now I'm getting a headache," Tony told him as he massaged his temples. "Now you can tell me where you got the grenades and the rifle s from and leave with these nice policemen to spend the rest of your life in a state prison. Or I can arrange for you to be on the next plane out to Gitmo where someone else will ask you, not so nicely, where you got the weapons and for which terrorist group you were acting. I know which one I'd pick," Tony said, pushing his chair back and readying himself to leave the room.

"Wait!" Sheldon eventually answered. "I'm not a terrorist."

"Of course you're not. Where did you get the weapons?" Tony repeated his question, his tone unchanging.

"I don't know his real name. He said to call him Luther. All I know is that he has a contact at an army base and said he could get me whatever I needed," Sheldon explained nervously.

"How did you contact him?" Tony asked, walking around and leaning over Sheldon's shoulder.

"He had my cell number. He'd call me," Sheldon insisted.

"Write down your cell phone number," Tony ordered. Sheldon did as he was told. Tony looked up at the mirrored glass behind which he knew Gibbs and Vance were standing. He took the number from Sheldon and left the room. He joined the Director and Gibbs back in the observation room.

"What do you think Boss? Is he telling the truth?" Tony asked Gibbs.

"Get his cell phone records and we'll know for sure," Vance replied before Gibbs had a chance to.

Tony turned to go back upstairs to the office and Gibbs followed him out. As they waited for the elevator, Tony noticed Gibbs grab the wall and close his eyes to steady himself.

"Are you alright Boss?" Tony dared ask.

"Yea. Just a bit dizzy, that's all. I'll be fine in a bit," he replied as the elevator doors opened. DiNozzo didn't know whether to help him on the elevator or leave him alone. Instead he held the elevator doors open until Gibbs steadied himself and made his own way in. As they reached the bullpen, Tony saw Ziva at her desk and tried to signal to her using his eyes and head movement about Gibbs. She didn't have a clue what he was trying to do.

"Tony, are you trying to tell me something?" she asked loudly enough for Gibbs to hear.

"No," Tony replied crossly. Why did she never understand him? "I need to check the phone logs for Sheldon's cell phone. Anything on the list of personnel yet?" he asked her.

"I have come up with a few names of marines who have felons as part of their extended family. I'm running them now," Ziva replied. She was surprised when Gibbs didn't acknowledge what she had said. Instead he just sat in his chair and put his elbows on the desk and held his head and closed his eyes. He didn't look so good, she thought. She looked back over at Tony who started his silent communication efforts again. This time she understood. This wasn't going to go down too well but she did make a promise to Ducky.

"Okay Gibbs," she stated bravely. "I'm taking you to bed," she began, then realised what she had said. Gibbs looked up at her somewhat bemused. Tony was bursting to release that smutty comment that was in the back of his throat but knew better.

"Home," she corrected herself. "I'm taking you home where you will go to bed. Alone!" she continued. "I won't take no for an answer. Now you can do as you are told or I will use other more forceful measures," she explained quite seriously.

Gibbs looked a little shocked at her candour. But he couldn't bring himself to argue with her. The room was spinning and he was starting to feel queasy. Maybe a lie down would sort it out he hoped.

"Okay. Be sure to tell Ducky I did as the he ordered," he said as he got to his feet rather unsteadily. Ziva noticed this and was quickly by his side in case her assistance was required. He put his hand on her shoulder and stood up, took a couple of deep breaths and waited until the office stopped spinning before taking his first steps towards the door.

"Let me know if you get anything, DiNozzo," he said as he passed Tony's desk.

"Sure will, Boss," Tony replied, watching his Boss make his way to the elevator. He hated seeing him so weakened. This wasn't the Gibbs he knew and loved. It took a lot to put Gibbs out of action. He hoped he was going to be alright.

_TBC. Wud luv 2 know what y'all think so far? Tune in next chapter for a hint of Zibbs._


	7. Chapter 7

_Gibbs house_

Gibbs gave Ziva his keys and she opened the front door of his house and let them both in. Gibbs turned on the lights and entered his living room. It wasn't too untidy he thought looking around. He threw some newspapers off his sofa before lowering his injured body onto it.

"Can I make you something to eat?" Ziva offered much to Gibbs' surprise.

"Trained assassin and cooks too?" Gibbs commented in jest, allowing his serious work facade to drop.

"Survival training! No matter where you are you have to eat," she replied from the kitchen quite seriously. Good point, he thought.

"I'm not sure what's in the refrigerator though," he called back to her pretty sure it was close to empty. He hadn't been to the store in over a week. He relaxed back into the sofa and rested his eyes. Between the intermittent buzzing in his ears, he could hear Ziva opening doors and taking out utensils in the kitchen. That was all he remembered until she was rocking him gently to wake him.

"You nodded off," she whispered softly. "Why don't you let me help you upstairs? You can go to bed and I'll bring you up some eggs?" Ziva suggested.

Gibbs realised that he didn't feel hungry anymore, just tired. He nodded in agreement.

"Ducky gave me these and said that you should take one of each, for the pain," she said, handing him a glass of water. He took it and swallowed both pills. With Ziva's help he climbed the stairs and sat on his bed. She helped him remove his shirt. She found the experience more sensuous than she should have as she drank in his natural scent. She allowed her gaze to trace over his broad shoulders, his bandaged chest and taut abdomen and fully appreciated what good shape that he was in. Realising that she was allowing her eyes to linger for way longer than appropriate, she suddenly averted her gaze and turned to leave.

"Em, I think you can probably manage from here," she said curtly, realising how inappropriately she was acting. Gibbs had noticed the way she looked at him but didn't say anything. He definitely didn't misinterpret it this time. He hadn't been imagining it. There was something in that look. He thought he had seen it once or twice before but presumed he was seeing only what he wanted to see. There was no way such an attractive, young woman like Ziva could be attracted to him, he thought. He was old enough to be her father.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked from the doorway.

"I'm good, thanks. Can you call Ducky and see how McGee is doing?" he asked as he put his legs on the bad and lay back.

"Sure. I'll be back up in few minutes," she replied, closing over the door. She returned quickly downstairs and found her cell phone. She sat at the kitchen table and mentally scolded herself for her unprofessional behaviour. She was experiencing feelings for Gibbs, that she had not realised before. She knew she cared for him, maybe a little more that she should. She had known this ever since he was injured and "retired" a couple of years ago. She had done her best to bury those feelings and to keep a respectful distance between Gibbs and herself as much as the job would allow anyway. She had always been able to keep her emotions under control. Her Mossad training had ensured that, but she was still human afterall. She had feelings and emotions. She wasn't the cold hearted assassin that she would have everyone believe she was. Today had been an emotionally challenging day and she was feeling vulnerable.

When she saw Gibbs go down in the park earlier that day, she nearly lost it. She wanted to run to him, to protect him, to save him but she fought her instinct. She remained in control and let Tony take the lead. And then when she saw Tony help him to his feet she was so relieved, she almost cried. She wanted to hug Gibbs as he walked back to the car but again restrained herself. She was finding it more and more difficult. Then to make matters worse there was the explosion. She couldn't believe it. She had nearly lost him twice in one day. Somehow he had managed to walk away from that relatively unscathed once again. Her stomach churned at the thought of how close she had come to losing him today. Snap out of it, David, she thought to herself as she lifted up the cell phone. She scrolled down to Ducky's number on her address book and called him. He answered quickly.

"Ducky, it's Ziva. How is McGee?" she told him.

"Ah, hello dear. I'm afraid there's no change. Abigail is with him at the moment," Ducky explained. "How is Jethro feeling?"

"He started to feel dizzy back at the office so I took him home. He's in bed now," she replied.

"Did he complain of any headache or nausea?" Ducky asked, his medical training taking over.

"No. He said it was more that his balance was a bit off," she explained.

"Ah, it's probably his inner ear. It's not uncommon when a person is exposed to loud, concussive noises like an explosion to suffer inner ear trauma. I'll call around in the morning and check on him to make sure he's alright. Call me if you're worried," Ducky replied.

"Thanks, Ducky. Goodnight."

"Goodnight to you too, my dear," he replied before hanging up.

Ziva got up and walked back up the stairs to Gibbs' bedroom. The light was still on so she went in.

"I just spoke to Ducky and......," she started to say, when she noticed that his eyes were closed and his breathing was heavy. He was sound asleep. She walked over beside him, pulled up the covers over him and paused momentarily to watch him sleep. She had never seen him fully relaxed before. The worries of the world seemed to have been lifted from his shoulders. His brow was minus the usual furrows and he looked younger lying there, she noticed. Then she realised that she was doing it again, allowing herself to be distracted by him and quickly snapped herself out of it. She turned off the bedside lamp and left the room. She tried to get some sleep in Gibbs' spare room that night but struggled to find rest. She had so many things flying around in her mind. She spent most of the night staring at the ceiling, battling her inner demons, questioning her motives and trying to figure out what she really wanted.

_Hospital_

It was almost dawn when McGee began to regain consciousness. The first of his senses to awaken was his sense of smell. The air smelled of disinfectant but there was a hint of a familiar perfume wafting through it. His eyes were heavy, he couldn't manage to open them. He became aware of sounds, a rhythmic beeping, far away footsteps, even snoring close by. He felt slight pain, more discomfort than pain and his head throbbed. He managed to open his eyes just a crack. It was dark but there were shafts of light breaking through the closed blinds. He tried to raise his arm but realised that he couldn't move it. He tried to figure out why. He looked down to see and then he saw her. Abby. She was asleep in a chair beside the bed, her head resting on his arm. Finally it dawned on him, he was in hospital. He couldn't quite remember why though. He strained to look around the room. In a chair in the corner Ducky sat, mouth gaping, snoring softly. What had happened? He couldn't remember. The last thing he recalled was Gibbs getting shot in the park. He was okay though. He remembered him going back to work. From then on it was fuzzy.

"Abby," he said softy, trying to move his arm. She sat up with a jolt.

"McGee! You're awake!" she exclaimed loudly. Ducky woke with an unceremoniously loud final snore, unsure of his whereabous for a second.

"What happened Abby?" McGee asked hoarsely.

"You were with Gibbs and you got caught in an explosion," she told him. "Don't you remember?"

"Not really," he replied, searching his clouded brain for answers.

"It's okay, McGee. It's not uncommon to suffer some memory loss after a head injury, isn't that right Ducky?" she said in an attempt to reassure him.

"Absolutely! Don't worry Timothy, it'll come back," Ducky replied. McGee lay there. He knew it was there, somewhere. There was something nagging him. It wasn't long until it surfaced.

"Gibbs! He was upstairs. Oh God, he didn't make it, did he?" McGee sat up suddenly realising what had happened.

"What? No, McGee, he's fine," Abby tried in vain to reassure him.

"If he was fine, he'd be here," McGee pointed out as his distress grew.

"Good point," Abby admitted sheepishly. "Okay, he got a little banged up but he is okay," she insisted.

"Take me to his room. I need to see him," McGee said adamantly.

"I can't," Abby told him a little confused as to why he didn't believe her.

"Timothy, calm down. Gibbs is fine. Ziva took him home. He is sore and exhausted but I promise you he's fine," Ducky said as he took McGee by the shoulders and gently lay him back down.

"You wouldn't lie to me Ducky, would you?" McGee asked peering into Ducky's eyes.

"Never," Ducky replied. "I spoke to Ziva a few hours ago and Jethro was sleeping. I told her I'd check on him this morning. He'll be so glad that you're awake. You gave us all a bit of a scare, you know," Ducky continued. Eventually McGee relaxed and Abby made a few calls to tell everyone that he was alright.

_Gibbs house_

Later that morning, Ziva was up and about in Gibbs' kitchen. She had spoken to Abby and was relieved that McGee was doing better. She was making coffee when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Good morning," she shouted as Gibbs shuffled into the kitchen. He looked better, she thought, despite the unflattering grey sweats and t-shirt he wore. "Are you sure you should be up?" she asked trying not to come across too maternal.

"Can't stay in bed all day. Anyway, I smelled the coffee," he replied wincing slightly as he reached for his favourite mug. Ziva brought over the pot and poured it for him.

"How do you feel?" she asked as she poured another for herself.

"Still a bit sore but I'll live," he replied, holding the mug with both hands and sitting at the table.

Ziva smiled. She was glad that he didn't feel like he had to be tough around her. She found his openess refreshing if not a little strange.

"Abby called a while ago. McGee is conscious. She said he was very worried about you. Took him a while to believe that you were still alive," she told him.

"Is he okay?" Gibbs wondered.

"A bit confused," she replied.

"I know how he feels," Gibbs commented as he sipped his coffee, referring to the confusion and memory loss he suffered following his coma. Gibbs lowered his coffee mug and puts his hand up to his left ear and winced.

"Are you alright?" Ziva asked reaching out and putting her hand on his.

"Just an earache," he replied, cupping his ear with his hand. Ziva stood up and produced some more pills that Ducky had given her for him. She handed him two of the same ones she had given him the previous night.

"Take these," she ordered sternly. He looked up at her. He decided it best to do as he was told so took them and swallowed them. As he did so, his door bell rang. Ziva peeped out the front window to check who it was. Upon seeing that it was Ducky she opened the door.

"Good morning, Ziva. How is the patient today?" he asked chirpily as he came in.

"He seems better but he has an earache," she told him, showing him into the kitchen.

"Ah, there you are, Jethro. Ziva is right, you do look much better. Amazing what a few decent hours sleep can do for the body," he enthused.

"And a good mug of coffee, Duck!" Gibbs replied, reaching for the pot once more. "How's McGee?"

"Much better thank goodness, although the poor chap did get a bit upset when he woke. Had it in his head that you had been killed in the explosion," Ducky informed him.

"I heard," Gibbs replied, looking over at Ziva. "I'll call in to see him on my way to the office."

"Really, Jethro, do you have to go in today?" Ducky asked knowing the futility of his question.

"Yeah, Duck, I do. Case isn't closed yet," Gibbs pointed out.

"Well if you must go, will you at least try and take it easy?" Ducky pleaded. "And wear this or I will tell Vance that you're not fit for duty," he threatened, producing another sling. Gibbs threw his eyes up to heaven but could see the look of determination in Ducky's eyes and knew that he meant it. He agreed but said he needed to shower first. Ducky was happy enough that Jethro would do as he asked. Gibbs showered and struggled to get dried and dressed. Ziva came in to check on him and saw the battle he was having trying to put on his polo shirt. Without a word she approached him and took the shirt from him. She stood face to face with him. He could feel her warm breath on his naked chest. She gently pulled the shirt on over his head. Gibbs eyes studied hers trying to read what she wanted. He knew what he wanted. He didn't say a word as she took his injured arm and guided it through the sleeve. With the shirt now on she turned to leave and he grabbed her arm. His touch shocked her and she gasped slightly. She raised her eyes to meet his. He leaned towards her and kissed her softly on her lips. She didn't respond as she thought she would have. His actions had caught her off guard.

"Thank you" he said trying to assess her reaction. She was stunned by the kiss. It was just his way of saying thank you, she thought. It felt nice. She desperately wanted to kiss him back with all the passion that was growing inside of her, but she found she was paralysed. She really felt out of her depth. She responded as best she could.

"You're welcome," she replied. D'oh! Then she walked away leaving Gibbs hot and bothered not to mention confused.

He came back downstairs after he finished getting dressed. They stumbled through the awkwardness of what had just happened as best they could. She acted as if nothing had happened and he was happy enough to play along. She helped him fix the sling for his arm before they left for the hospital.

_Hospital_

When Gibbs and Ziva walked into the room, McGee was sitting up chatting to Abby.

"Boss!" McGee exclaimed in surprised when he saw them enter. "You're okay."

"Well yeah, McGee," Gibbs replied as only he could. He gave McGee a slight smile of reassurance. "You look better," Gibbs told the young agent.

"I feel fine but they won't let me out of here yet," McGee informed him.

"They know what they're doing, McGee. I need you at your best when you get back. So take the time you need, okay?" Gibbs said kindly. Abby, Ziva and even McGee were somewhat taken aback by his compassionate words. Not what you'd usually expect Gibbs to come out with.

"Eh, thanks, Boss," McGee stammered in reply.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'll drag Abby back to the lab. We've still got a case to work," Gibbs said, grasping Abby by the arm and using mock force.

"Okay, I'm coming," she said as she got to her feet. "I'll come by later, McGee. See ya!"

"Bring my laptop!" he shouted after her as she left the room.

_AN: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. Will try and get another up before the weekend. R & R pleeease._


	8. Chapter 8

With Abby safely installed back in her lad, Gibbs and Ziva returned to their office. A very tired looking Tony was slouched at his desk.

"Hey Boss," he quipped straightening up as Gibbs strolled past his desk. "Didn't expect to see you today," he admitted, even though deep down he knew that Gibbs would have to be on his death bed not to show up.

"Where are we on this, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked referring to the case.

"I've been cross referencing Sheldon's phone records for the past month. There were lots of regular numbers you'd expect, girlfriend, mom, dealer, the usual suspects and then there were a few unknown numbers, only one that showed up once or twice. So I concentrated on them. You know, I really miss Probie for this kinda stuff. He's so much better at it than me," Tony admitted, getting side tracked.

It just took one of Gibbs's burning glares to bring him back on track.

"Oh, anyway, these numbers came from a public phone at a gas station in Edgewood. And guess what? Yea – you've guess it, they have security cameras. I was just about to pay them a visit and get a copy of their footage for those dates," Tony explained standing up and getting his jacket.

"Good, DiNozzo. Take Ziva with you," Gibbs ordered, settling back behind his desk.

On the journey to the gas station across town, Tony was driving the car and taking the opportunity to wind Ziva up as usual.

"So, what was it like spending the night with the Boss?" he asked winking suggestively.

"I did not "spend the night" with him in that sense, Tony. You know that," Ziva replied defensively. If only he knew, she thought.

"No? Then why are you blushing?" he asked, looking over at her.

"I am not!" she replied sharply. She knew her blushes were more from mortification as she recalled the encounter she and Gibbs had experienced that morning.

"Ohhh, you so are!" he laughed. Ziva elbowed him sharply in the ribs, causing him to swerve the car. "Ow!" he moaned.

"Okay, okay. I won't tease you any more. So what did you and Gibbs _talk_ about then? I swear if it was me, I wouldn't know where to start," he admitted.

"We didn't really talk that much. I helped him get undressed and then he .....," she began to describe her night when Tony cut in.

"Woah! You helped Gibbs undress? So tell me, does he work out? He does, doesn't he? No don't tell me. Okay tell me," he rambled childishly.

"If you must know, he's in better shape than you are Tony," Ziva replied cheekily, knowing that such a revelation would push his buttons. Tony's scowled and unconsciously pushed out his chest and sucked in his gut at the same time.

"We're here," he said, turning off the road and into the forecourt of the gas station.

"Oh yea, much better shape," Ziva commented again, as she made a point of conspicuously checking Tony out as he got out of the car.

They went inside and spoke with the station manager who provided them with the security footage for the dates they required. They returned to the office and with Abby's help, began trawling through the tapes. They took stills from the footage of anyone using the payphone around the times in question and Abby ran them using facial recognition software.

An hour or so later Gibbs arrived down in Abby's lab, seconds before the got a ding.

"How do you do that, Gibbs?" she asked in amazement.

"What, Abs?" Gibbs asked oblivious to the significance of his arrival at that particular time.

"Know when I'm about to get something," Abby replied.

"You've got something?" Gibbs asked.

"Of course, why else would you be here?" she replied looking him directly in the face.

"Abby!" he said impatiently.

"Oh, sorry Gibbs. We've got a match. You're mystery telephone caller is one Julius Luther Bertrand, last known address 473 West Monroe, Columbia Heights," Abby told him with great satisfaction.

"Nice work," Gibbs smiled and leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Abby smiled, chuffed with his praise.

Gibbs returned to the office armed with the name and address of another suspect.

"Abby got a hit," he announced to Ziva and Tony. "She's sending you the details. Bring him in," he ordered as he sat back behind his desk. Tony and Ziva jumped up, grabbed their gear and headed out to find Mr. Bertrand.

Ziva and Tony pulled up outside the address sent to them by Abby. It was an imposing looking townhouse in need of a bit of TLC but an attractive home. The two agents approached the front door. Tony knocked and waited for an answer. A well dressed woman in her thirties came to the door, opening it slightly. Tony and Ziva identified themselves as NCIS agents and asked to speak to Julius Bertrand. The woman invited them in and explained that Julius was her husband and that he had moved out 5 months ago. Ziva asked if she would mind if she had a look around. The woman, Maria, shrugged and told her to go ahead.

"What is this about?" she asked Tony as Ziva checked upstairs.

"His name has come up in an investigation and he just might be able to help us. Do you know where we can reach him?" Tony ask turning on his charm.

"He's staying at his mother's place as far as I know. Remind him he still owes me 3 months child support when you see him," she replied crossly.

"I will," Tony told her. "Do you have his mother's address?" he enquired.

"Sure," she replied, getting a pen and writing it on a slip of paper for him.

Tony thanked her and when Ziva returned, they both left.

"So, any sign of him?" Tony asked his partner.

"Not a ducky bird," Ziva replied.

"Dickie bird. Not a dickie bird," Tony shook his head as he corrected her.

"Exactly. No tooth brush or clothes in the hamper. I'm sure she is telling the truth," Ziva concluded. "Did you get a forwarding address?"

"Yep. We're on our way there right now," Tony replied.

Julius' mother only lived about 5 miles away. The drive in mid-day traffic took about twenty minutes. His mother lived in a small bungalow in a quiet suburb. It was not a well to do area. More middle to lower income homes lined the street. Tony noticed neighbours curtains twitching as they pulled up outside the house in their shiny black Chevrolet sedan.

Tony and Ziva agreed to approach the house cautiously. She decided to go around the back while Tony approached the front door. As he did he heard a slight commotion coming from inside and presumed that Julius was making a run for it. Unfortunately for Julius he didn't expect that a trained Mossad agent would be waiting at the back door for him. By the time Tony got around the back, poor Julius was flat on his back, grasping his throat and trying desperately to catch his breath.

"What did you do to him?" Tony asked leaning down to help him up and putting cuffs on him.

"He ran into my arm while trying to evade us," Ziva replied looking unsympathetically at the suspect. Tony smiled amazed at her calmness and ability to handle herself in such situations. Tony helped Julius back into the house. He shoved him onto the sofa and stood looming over him. Ziva checked the remainder of the house until she was satisfied it was clear.

"Julius, Julius, Julius! Or do I call you Luther? Now why did you try and run? We only want to have a chat," Tony explained reasonably. "Now what would make you run? Running would make me think that you had something to hide. Do you have something to hide, Julius?"

"No, nothing, I swear," he replied looking nervously over as Ziva returned to the living room

"Well why did you run, Luther?" Tony asked more insistently this time.

"I owe some dudes some cash. I thought you were the guys they sent to collect," he stammered.

"Really? The caps with NCIS printed on it didn't give it away then?" Tony quipped.

"What? No," he replied looking anxiously from one agent to the other.

"I find that hard to believe, Agent DiNozzo, don't you?" Ziva added leaning in close to the handcuffed suspect menacingly. Tony nodded in agreement.

"I think you should come with us, Julius. We need to have a little chat," Tony smiled, taking the suspect by the elbow and getting him to his feet. He escorted him out the front door and out towards their sedan. "Is that your car?" Tony asked as he walked past a Hyundai hatchback. "Maybe we should have a look in the trunk?" he suggested to Ziva. With that Ziva opened the driver door of the unlocked car and popped the trunk. Tony and Julius stood at the rear of the car and Tony opened up the rear.

"Really, Julius. You're not very good at this, are you?" Tony said when he saw the contents of the trunk. Inside lay an unzipped navy blue hold all containing numerous small arms and underneath were a couple of rifles. "Very careless, Julius, leaving them in an unlocked car like that. Anyone could've taken them," Tony explained quite seriously. With that, Tony arrested him for possession of stolen property and put him in the rear of their car. They returned to NCIS HQ.

_Hang in there - more to come._


	9. Chapter 9

Ziva and Tony returned to NCIS headquarters with their prisoner. They brought him straight to interrogation and left him alone in the interrogation room while they waited for Gibbs to arrive.

"That's Luther?" Gibbs asked unimpressed as he entered the observation area and saw the suspect for the first time. "Not what I was expecting."

Julius Bertrand was a very respectable looking man in his mid to late thirties. Of French extraction, he was slightly built, clean shaven with brown hair and glasses. You would easily mistake him for an accountant or banker. Not your typical gun running gang banger type. It's always the ones you least expect. Gibbs spoke to Ziva and Tony as they watched Bertrand through the window.

"Are the weapons secure?" Gibbs asked.

"They're with Abby. She's checking them for prints," Ziva told him.

"We'll get him for possession of the stolen weapons, that shouldn't be a problem. Now all we need is to prove that he participated in the robbery and the murder of Officer Slade. We need the name of his inside man," Gibbs informed them.

"Are you gonna break him Boss?" Tony asked eagerly, unable to hide his admiration of Gibbs' interrogation techniques.

"Nope. You are," Gibbs replied turning to face Tony. Tony acted shocked but deep down he was thrilled that Gibbs placed so much trust in him. He glanced over at Ziva, knowing that she also wanted a crack at Julius and saw a flash of jealousy in her eyes. Tony swaggered confidently out of observation and into the interview room. He could almost feel Ziva's eyes boring into the back of his head as he sat down to talk to the suspect.

"Well, Jules, I hope you haven't any plans for the next ten to fifteen years," Tony remarked as he relaxed back in his seat and folded his arms. Bertrand just looked at him and sat straight and expressionless.

"You know, I can't figure out why though. I mean stealing guns is not a thinking man's occupation at the best of times but stealing from the military has to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. You see, Jules, personally I don't think you're that stupid and my boss doesn't think you're that stupid. You see we don't think this was your idea. We know you had someone on the inside and we want his name," he stated plainly. Bertrand still didn't comment. Tony kept his cool.

"Okay, be like that. Seems unfair that you're in here, facing a lengthy stretch and your buddy will get away scot free. You could make it a lot easier on yourself by giving me his name. We could come to some arrangement" Tony suggested reasonably.

"I want a lawyer," Bertrand replied blankly. Tony stood up, frustrated by his lack of progress, smiled a fake smile in Bertrand's direction and left the room. He was met in the corridor by Gibbs.

"Sorry Boss," DiNozzo apologised. Gibbs raised an eyebrow. Before he said anything, Tony continued, "Never apologise, I know Boss. It's a sign of weakness. Allow me," he said before smacking himself on the back of the head. Gibbs allowed himself a wry smile at his senior agent. Just then his cell phone rang. He failed to react to it. Tony looked at Gibbs for a second before deciding to tell him.

"Are you going to get that Boss?" Tony asked, suspecting that he didn't hear it.

"What? Oh, yeah," Gibbs replied, a little embarrassed that he hadn't heard it. "Gibbs!" he answered. "What?" he said switching from one ear to the other. "I can't…… I'll be right down."

Tony looked quizzically at him.

"It was Abby. She has something. Keep an eye on him," he told Tony as he turned towards the elevator. Tony joined Ziva back in the observation room while Gibbs called down to Abby's lab.

"I'm worried about Gibbs," Tony told Ziva as he re-entered the observation area. "He didn't hear his cell phone ringing. I don't think he's as fine as he says he is."

"The doctor did say it could take a few days for his hearing to return to normal. I wouldn't worry. He knows his limits," Ziva reassured him although not fully believing it herself.

Meanwhile Gibbs sauntered in to Abby's lab curious to find out what she had found. He found her bouncing energetically from Major Mass Spec to her wall of monitors. He wished he felt as energetic as she looked. His arm was throbbing and his ribs ached. The buzzing in his ears kept coming and going and it was driving him mad.

"Hey, Abby, what've you got?" he asked with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. Abby spun around immediately.

"Gibbs!" she declared with delight. Then she noticed how exhausted he looked. "Oooh," she uttered meekly.

"What?" he asked seeing the way she looked at him.

"Eh, nothing. You look better," she lied unconvincingly, turning smartly back to her computer friends.

"Well?"

"I managed to pull several finger prints and I got a hit. Petty Officer Hernando Lopez who just happens to be stationed at Quantico!" she announced bringing up his military ID photograph on the screen in front of her.

"He's on the list of personnel with access Abs. He probably handles those guns every day," Gibbs pointed out unimpressed by the announcement.

"Ah, yes, but while that may be the case, then explain why I also found his print on the trunk of Bertrand's car?" she asked with great satisfaction.

"Nice work, Abs," Gibbs said, planting a peck on her cheek before he exited the lab and returned upstairs to the observation room where Tony and Ziva waited.

"I need you to go to Quantico and pick up Petty Officer Hernando Lopez. He lives on base. Abby will send you the address. We'll let Mr. Bertrand stew in there for a while," Gibbs said as he watched Julius fidget in the interview room.

Tony and Ziva headed immediately to Quantico Base housing. They found out that Lopez lived with his wife and toddler daughter. They had contacted his superior officer who told them that Lopez was not on duty that week so they should be able to catch up with him at home

There were a few military personnel out and about on the street when they pulled up to the house. It was a pleasant sunny evening and kids were riding bikes and grown ups were cutting grass and painting fences. They walked up and knocked on the front door of the residence. A young woman in her twenties answered the door. Tony and Ziva introduced themselves and asked for Hernando Lopez. She told them that he was her husband and that he was out in the back garden. She invited them in and said that she would go and fetch him.

A couple of minutes later a rather sweaty looking man entered the house and immediately apologised for his appearance and said that he'd just be a minute, that he needed to wash up. Everything seemed relaxed and normal. That was until he returned to the living room armed with a 9mm Beretta and pointed it at the two agents.

"What are you doing?" his wife shouted in disbelief. Her face portrayed pure dismay.

"I won't go to prison," he shouted as he waved the weapon around from one agent to the next. Tony raised his hands in front of him and tried to calm the situation.

"It's okay, Hernando. We only came to talk to you," Tony explained as calmly as he could.

"Shut up!" Lopez shouted as he moved closer to Tony. "Give me your weapons," he ordered. "Now!"

"Okay! Okay, whatever you want. Just take it easy," Tony insisted. Ziva glared at Lopez waiting for her moment to strike. Slowly, Tony reached inside his jacket for his weapon, put it on the floor and kicked it towards him. Ziva hesitated unwilling to be disarmed by this man.

"Hernando, please don't do this. Put the gun down before you hurt someone," his wife pleaded through frightened sobs. As she did so her little daughter waddled into the room looking for her Papa. He mother protectively scooped her up and pleaded once again with her husband. It did no good. She got out of the house. Her instinct was to protect her child. She ran for help. His family leaving him distracted Hernando for a few seconds. Ziva saw this as her opportunity to act and she reached for her weapon. Unfortunately, her usual lightening reflexes were no match for Lopez and he swung his weapon in her direction and fired. She managed to get to her weapon and get a shot off but it missed its intended target. It only grazed Lopez's forearm. Hernando's shot didn't miss though and Ziva knew she was hit when a burning pain drove through her upper thigh. The impact of the bullet caused her leg to give way and she toppled sideways onto the living room floor, dropping her weapon and clutching her leg. Tony reacted the only way he knew how and rushed towards Lopez hoping to disarm him. Unfortunately for Tony, Hernando Lopez was younger and stronger and after a brief struggle, Tony succumbed to a blow on the back of the head from the butt of the handgun and collapsed on the floor.

Lopez then looked at the two wounded agents on his living room floor and knew he had blown it. He realised that his wife was gone and life as he knew it was no more. It was unlikely that he would get off the base unchecked. In his eyes, he didn't have mush choice. In desperation he locked his back door and then walked to the front door and did the same. He had hostages. With hostages, he had options. Now all he needed to do, he thought, was to figure them out.

_So, any comments, thoughts, ideas, let me have 'em!!!_


	10. Chapter 10

Back at NCIS headquarters, it was late evening when Gibbs received a call on his cell. It was Lt. Commander Harris, the officer whom he had met at the scene of the original robbery and murder.

"We have a situation here, Agent Gibbs," he started seriously.

"What kind of situation?" Gibbs asked somewhat perplexed.

"It involves two of your agents. Information is still sketchy but from what I've heard so far, Petty Officer Lopez is holding them hostage in his home. Some shots were heard from inside the house. I'm on my way there now. I just thought you should know," he explained.

"I'm on my way," Gibbs replied hanging up and cursing their luck. This couldn't be happening. Not after everything that had happened to his team over the last few days, he thought. Just as he was gathering himself together Ducky appeared, his hat and coat on, ready to go home.

"Now, Jethro, what are you still doing here at this hour? I thought I told Ziva to make sure you got home at a respectable hour," he began chastising before Gibbs cut him short.

"Duck!" he shouted. "Tony and Ziva are in trouble. I need you to drive me to Quantico."

"Quantico? Oh my! Of course. My car's in the parking garage. Let's go," he replied eager to help.

The ride to QUantico was painfully slow. Gibbs thought they'd never get there. Ducky drove ever so carefully, much to Gibbs frustration. His agents were in trouble. They needed him. Right now he needed to feel useful although he wasn't quite sure what he would do when he got there. All he knew was he had to get them out, he just wasn't sure how.

_Lopez house_

The situation was looking grim inside the Lopez home. Tony was slowly coming back to his senses. He sat up leaning on his elbow and rubbed the back of his head. He could feel the stickiness of the fresh blood in his hair. As he looked up he could see Lopez pacing anxiously around the room. He noticed a wound on Hernando' arm but it didn't seem to be adversely affecting him. Then he turned his head and he saw Ziva sitting on the ground with her back against the sofa. Beads of perspiration were evident on her brow and she was trying to breathe through the pain of her injury. She had tied her belt around her thigh to act as a tourniquet. The amount of blood on her clothing and the floor didn't go unnoticed to Tony. It didn't bode well. He knew she needed his help. He started to crawl over to where she sat.

"Move another inch and I'll finish you," Lopez shouted rushing towards him and pointing the gun at Tony's face when he noticed him moving.

"I need to help her. She's losing a lot of blood," he said staring down the barrel of the weapon. He wasn't dissuaded by Lopez's threats and continued to move closer to her. Lopez relented easily and lowered his weapon letting him go to her.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked when he reached her, trying not to appear too worried.

"For now," Ziva replied, experience telling her that if she didn't get medical assistance soon, she would eventually bleed to death. Tony reached up onto the sofa and removed the few pillows that were on it. First he stripped the covers from the pillows and applied one to Ziva's wound. She flinched from the pain it caused her but said nothing.

"Sorry," Tony apologised. "We need to slow the bleeding. Keep pressure on it. If we raise your leg it might help," he suggested. She agreed and took the pillow cover in her hand and continued to apply pressure. Tony gave her one of the pillows and he helped her lie on the ground. He placed her head on the pillow. Then he placed the remaining pillows under her knee and raised her leg slightly.

"You're going to be okay. I'll get you out of here," he whispered into her ear. Tony sat back and leaned against the sofa and prayed he could keep his promise. He sat and observed Lopez. He hoped that Hernando's wife had gone for help and that it would get there soon. Lopez was unstable, Tony could see that. He would try talking to him and hoped that his words wouldn't send him into a rage and make things worse.

"Hernando," Tony called, getting his captor's attention. Lopez turned pointing his weapon at the pair once more.

"Shut up, I need to think," Lopez shouted, the realisation of his predicament starting to sink in.

"Hernando, listen to me. We can work this out. No one else need get hurt," Tony said offering him a way out.

"I told you to shut up," he replied walking over and hitting Tony in the face. Tony tried in vain to protect himself but the blow hit him on the cheek and mouth. His lip was split and he moaned as he held his hand to his bleeding mouth. As Tony was recovering, he thought he heard a noise from outside the house. However from where he and Ziva sat, they could not see out the windows. A few moments later, a voice boomed over a megaphone.

"Petty Officer Lopez, this is Lt. Commander Harris. I am ordering you to release your hostages and come out with your hands up."

Lopez ducked over to the front window and peeked out through the curtains. Outside there were three naval SUV's and about a dozen armed M.P's. He felt sick to the pit of his stomach. He had really blown it. Panic rose within him. He wanted his wife. He wanted to say sorry to her. He needed to hug his little girl. He glanced over at the two agents. Right now they were a sorry sight but they were also his ticket out of this.

"Do as he says, Hernando," Tony advised the flustered sailor. He turned and looked at Tony.

"No. You're my way out of this. As long as I still have you they won't try anything," he explained as he tried to mentally take stock of the situation.

"No, Hernando, they won't. We're federal agents. They don't negotiate, especially not for us. Risk is part of our job. We're pretty low on their list of priorities," Tony explained knowing it wasn't quite true but hoping to show Lopez the futility of his actions.

"I'll ask for a car. Once I can get off base I can figure the rest out," Lopez said naively.

Tony shook his head. He wasn't getting through to him. He looked at Ziva. She was pale and clammy and from what he could tell she was displaying the first signs of shock. He hoped help would get to them soon.

Unbeknownst to him, Ducky and Gibbs were just arriving at the base. They were given directions to the Lopez's house and could see it well before they got there. Several vehicles were pulled up at odd angles outside the house. Their headlights shone onto the garden and front porch. Several armed naval personnel stood watching the property. A few armed M.P.'s stooped awaiting instructions down the side. Ducky parked his car neatly at the side of the road. Gibbs was quickly out of the car and hurried over to Lt. Commander Harris.

"Sit rep?" he said as soon as he reached him. Harris turned startled by his rapid approach.

"Ah, Agent Gibbs," he said shaking his hand. "We have eyes on Lopez in the living room. No sightings of your agents yet. We've tried communicating but he hasn't responded. We've requested a negotiator on site. Just waiting for him," Harris explained.

"Yeah? Well he's here," Gibbs replied confidently.

"You?" Harris asked a little surprised. Gibbs nodded in response. "Okay then. What do you need?"

"I need a direct line to that house and eyes in that room," he replied.

"No problem. Give me a few minutes," Harris said as he turned to another officer and explained what needed to be done. Gibbs turned back and walked over to Ducky who was observing from the sidewalk.

"Any news?" Ducky wondered hoping there was.

"Nope. I'm going to try and talk to him. Here, get his thing off me," he said as he struggled to remove his sling. Ducky helped him knowing there was no point in objecting. Gibbs made a fist and released it, repeating the exercise few time to get the circulation pumping through his injured limb. As he straightened out his arm he felt the recent wound stretch and the throbbing worsened. But he hadn't time to think about it. He had a mission. He needed to concentrate. There could only be one outcome from this situation. Another could not be contemplated. Harris waved him over and Gibbs trotted back towards one of the SUVs.

"The line is ready. It's all yours," Harris said handing Gibbs a field telephone.

Gibbs took it in his hands and paused, taking a deep cleansing breath. He lifted the receiver and the phone rang on the other end.

Inside the house, Lopez was caught off guard by the ringing phone. He didn't know whether to answer it or not. He watched it ring for a few seconds then he looked over at the two agents as if he needed advice. Tony nodded towards him encouraging him to answer it. Eventually he did.

"Yeah," he said gruffly.

"Petty Officer Lopez, my name is Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. Is everything okay in there?" he asked, trying to remain impartial and relax the subject.

"We're fine in here," Lopez replied.

"Good, that's good. It's just your neighbours heard shots coming from inside and I wanted to be sure everyone was okay," Gibbs explained. "So no one is hurt?"

Lopez didn't respond. There was silence on the line.

"Hernando, are you still there?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm here."

"Is someone hurt?" Gibbs asked again with slightly more insistence.

"Yeah. That girl agent got herself shot," Lopez told him calmly. Gibbs stomach flipped and his mouth suddenly went dry. He gritted his teeth and fought his initial instinct to rush the front door guns blazing and rescue his agents.

"Is she alive?" Gibbs asked doing his best to remain calm and not betray his personal involvement.

"For now. But I'll kill both of them if _they_ don't back off," Lopez shouted.

"Who do you mean?" Gibbs asked wanting to be clear on what he wanted.

"Harris and those M.P.'s. Tell them to back off or I'll do it. I swear," Lopez shouted again sounding more agitated.

"Okay, we can do that Hernando. You just need to stay calm and this will all work out," Gibbs said trying to diffuse the situation. "Is there anything else I can do for you Hernando?"

Lopez paused and thought for a few seconds.

"I need a car," he said nervously, "And safe passage off the base."

"I don't know Hernando. I'll see what I can do. I would help if I could tell them that you are co-operating. How about you release the injured agent?" Gibbs suggested, hoping Lopez would agree.

"No, not until I see the car," he replied much to Gibbs disappointment.

"Okay, I'll work on the car. Will you at least agree to letting a doctor go in and check on her?" he proposed. Lopez hesitated. He was suspicious of the request but decided to allow it.

"Okay, just a doctor but if he tries anything I'll put a bullet in his head," Lopez told him vehemently.

"Good. I'll arrange it. I'll call you back soon," Gibbs replied and then hung up.

Harris and Ducky stood looking at Gibbs trying to gauge his reaction to the call.

"Well?" Ducky asked impatiently.

"He'll allow a doctor in to treat Ziva. Harris I need you to organise a car for him. He wants safe passage off the base," Gibbs explained.

"That won't happen Agent Gibbs," Harris interrupts.

"I know that, Commander. I just want him to think it will. I'll go in as the doctor," Gibbs decided.

"No you most certainly will not," Ducky intervened. "What good will you be to that girl, Jethro? I will go in," Ducky insisted.

"I have to agree with Dr. Mallard," Lt. Commander Harris said much to Gibbs annoyance. "We need you out here to keep Lopez talking. You're building up a rapport with him. Thats important in these situations."

Gibbs looked over at his friend. He knew the situation was volatile and hated putting Ducky in any danger. Ducky met his gaze and it was as if he understood his thoughts.

"I'll be fine, Jethro. I can help," Ducky insisted. Gibbs placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and relented. Ducky was going in.


	11. Chapter 11

Ducky and Gibbs spoke to the paramedics who had arrived on scene. They provided Ducky with a medical bag filled to the brim with supplies. Once he had everything he needed he walked cautiously up towards the house.

Gibbs made the call to Lopez and told him that the doctor was outside and asked if he would let him in. Lopez agreed. Gibbs nodded to Ducky who slowly approached the house. He strode to the front door and knocked. After a minute the door opened a crack and Lopez allowed him to enter. He instructed Ducky to drop the bag and patted him down to search for concealed weapons. Satisfied when he found nothing, he allowed Ducky into the living room.

The sight that greeted Ducky caused him great concern. Tony sat on the floor with his back to the sofa. There was dried blood on his lip and his eye and cheek were bruised and swollen. His hands were bound behind his back. Tony's eyes widened with surprise when he saw Ducky enter the room. Ducky gave a wink and a slight shake of his head and hoped Tony would understand not to let on that they knew each other. Tony remained quiet and thankfully understood.

Ziva lay on the ground with her injured leg raised as Tony had left her. Her pants leg was soaked in blood which had also formed in a small pool beneath her. Ducky noticed her deathly pallor and didn't like what he saw. Her eyes were closed. He hoped she was just resting and not unconscious. He went towards her and knelt beside her. He touched her cheek and she woke with a start and grabbed his hand in an instinctive defensive reaction. She raised her head, trying to sit up.

"It's okay dear girl. It's me, Ducky," he whispered as he put his hand on her shoulder to keep her lying down.

"Ducky? What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"I'm here to look after you, my dear. Jethro is going to get you out of here. Until he does, I'll be looking after you," he explained calmly. She tried to smile but couldn't quite manage it. "Now let me see," Ducky said as he took a scissors from the medical bag and cut away at Ziva's trouser leg. He could see the entry wound and searched for an exit wound but found none. The wound was still bleeding.

"The bullet is still inside," he commented as he produced gauze and bandages from the bag. "I'm going to put a pressure bandage on the wound. It will feel uncomfortable but I'll give you a shot of morphine for the pain," he told her, squeezing her hand. Ducky could see she was drowsy and battling to remain conscious. She needed fluids as it was obvious to him that she was going into shock from the blood loss. Luckily the paramedic was experienced enough to pack a bag of saline in the kit. He would have to start an IV. As he prepared to do so, he realised it had been decades since he had last inserted an IV needle. Not too many of his patients were in need of IV's by the time they reached him after all.

"You'll feel a bit better once the fluids start," he explained as she flinched when he found the vein in her arm. He hung the bag from a lamp stand and then turned to Tony.

"How are you holding up, son?" he asked feeling around Tony's eye socket and cheek.

"Ow," Tony complained as he examined the bruised areas. "I'm okay. How's she doing?"

"She needs to be in hospital. There's nothing broken from what I can see," Ducky told him, referring to his facial injuries. He took a sterile wipe and cleaned the blood from his lip.

"What's happening out there, Duck?" Tony asked in a low voice and shifting his weight uncomfortably.

"Gibbs is talking to him. He's asked for a car and they're working on that. I don't know after that. Just be ready for anything," Ducky said before Lopez interrupted.

"What are you whispering about?" he shouted, marching towards the three.

"I was just saying how this young lady needs to be in hospital," Ducky replied, getting back to his feet. "You do realise that if she doesn't get to hospital soon, she's going to die on your living room floor."

Lopez looked down at the now feeble looking girl on the floor. She was struggling to stay conscious as the effects of the morphine kicked in. She certainly didn't look like any kind of threat to him or anyone else now.

"If you let her go, I'm sure they'll look kindly on it," Ducky said, hoping to soften him up.

"Are you done?" Lopez asked gruffly. Ducky nodded. Lopez took him by the arm and roughly shoved him towards the door.

"Let me take her with me," Ducky pleaded as he was pushed out on to the porch. Lopez slammed the door in his face.

Ducky trotted swiftly over to where Gibbs was waiting. He looked dejected and disappointed.

"I'm sorry, Jethro," he said shaking his head as he reached him.

"Why, Duck? Is she alright?" he asked fearing the worst.

"I couldn't convince him to let her out of there. She's lost a lot of blood Jethro. She's very weak and needs to be in hospital," he explained.

That nauseous feeling returned to Gibbs. Knowing Ziva was hurt made him livid. His frustration grew knowing that she was only a matter of feet away from him but that in that moment it may as well have been miles. He knew he had to get her out. He could only think of one way to do that. Time to do things his way. He picked back up the phone with a determined look in his eye.

"Lopez, it's Gibbs here again. I've just spoken to the Doctor and he tells me that Agent David needs to get to the hospital. I have a proposal for you," he said, knowing what he was about to do was far from wise but entirely necessary. "If you release her I will take her place."

Ducky and Harris both spun around and shook their heads and gesticulated their objection on hearing his proposal. But Gibbs raised a hand and cut them off. He waited for Lopez to consider his suggestion.

"Okay, you come in and she can go. But I still want that car. What the hell is the delay?" Lopez shouted at him. "She stays until my ride gets here."

"It's on its way. Won't be much longer, okay?" Gibbs informed him despite not having any idea how long they'd have to wait for the vehicle.

"Okay," Lopez replied and put the phone down.

Gibbs turned to Harris and Ducky.

"He's agreed to release Ziva," he confirmed to them. "She gets out when his car gets here. Get your guys to hurry it up, Harris," he said, turning back and looking with trepidation at the house.

"Jethro, you're not really going in there, are you?" Ducky enquired apprehensively.

"I gave my word, Duck. If Ziva gets the medical attention she needs it'll be worth it," he replied solemnly. He turned back towards the SUV and began to remove his weapon. He knew there was no point in trying to conceal a weapon and risk it being discovered. The betrayal could be enough to push Lopez over the edge. Ducky watched as he prepared himself. He worried for Gibbs. He knew he wasn't one hundred percent fit and hoped it wouldn't endanger him as this saga unfolded.

"You will try and avoid confrontation in there, won't you Jethro?" Ducky said to his friend. Gibbs turned and smiled, knowing that if there was any confrontation inside the house, it would be entirely out of his hands. He patted Ducky on the back in an ambiguous display of reassurance. Gibbs strolled anxiously behind the cordon checking the road every minute or two to see if the car for Lopez had arrived. Eventually a blue sedan was driven slowly in their direction. This was it, he thought, trying to get into the correct frame of mind for what was to come. After a few deep relaxing breaths he returned to the SUV and took the phone in his hand and called the house again.

Lopez answered quickly.

"Hernando, your car is here. I want you to bring Ziva to the door. A paramedic will come to the door with me. You let him take her and then I will come in and bring you the car keys," Gibbs told him.

"Okay. You come in unarmed. You try anything, I put a bullet in the funny guys head, got it?" Lopez threatened referring to Tony.

"I've got it. You can trust me, Hernando. All I want is for everyone to get out of this alive. I'm on my way," Gibbs said before ending the call. He looked at the concerned faces on Ducky and Harris.

"We're on!" he said striding away from the two men and meeting up with a paramedic who was standing beside the parked ambulance. They conversed for a couple of minutes, Gibbs explaining to him what would happen. The paramedic seemed unfazed by the arrangement and was happy to assist Gibbs in his efforts to free his agent.

Meanwhile inside the house, Lopez marched over to Tony and kicked his feet.

"Get up!" he ordered. Tony obeyed and slowly got to his feet. Lopez removed the binds from his hands. DiNozzo hadn't been able to hear the conversation that Lopez had on the phone so was unsure what was going on. Lopez kept his weapon trained on him the whole time. "Get her on her feet!" he barked, motioning towards Ziva. Tony leaned down and took hold of Ziva behind her shoulders and as carefully as he could, eased her into a sitting position. Ziva groaned as the movement roused her and awakened her pain once more.

"What's going on?" she asked her colleague groggily.

"I wish I knew," Tony replied deliberately loudly, looking up at Hernando.

"She's getting out of here," Hernando told him as he waved his gun, signalling him to get her to her feet. As Tony hauled Ziva to her feet, she couldn't help but cry out in agony. She leaned on him and stood putting her weight on her uninjured leg. Now that Tony was on his feet he could see for the first time out through the window. He saw the armed naval personnel outside as well as cars with lights trained on the house. As he helped Ziva over to the front door, he noticed two men walking towards the house, their hands raised. Through the poor light he could make out that one of the men was his boss, Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Seeing him srtiding towards them gave him comfort and helped renewed his strength. He knew this would be over soon.


	12. Chapter 12

"Is that Gibbs?" Ziva asked Tony as she too saw the men approaching the house.

"Yeah," Tony replied. "He looks pissed."

"Do you know him?" Hernando asked overhearing their comments.

"You could say that," Tony admitted. "He's our boss."

Hernando didn't say anything. Instead he stood behind the door and opened it slowly. He kept his weapon trained on the two agents. Tony stood waiting as instructed in the open door, still supporting his injured partner. Soon he found himself face to face with Gibbs and a paramedic. Initially Gibbs face looked dour and stern but as soon as he saw Ziva looking weak and pale, his features softened. Concern veiled his anger.

"Ziva, how are you holding up?" he asked wanting to take her in his arms and comfort her.

"I've been better," she smiled feebly as Gibbs reached to take her hand.

"Jim here will take you to the ambulance. Do you think you can manage?" Gibbs asked her as he took her from DiNozzo.

"I think so," she replied. He and Jim then helped her down the steps of the porch. As he released her to the care of the paramedic Gibbs spoke.

"Take good care of her," he said before turning and climbing the steps once more. Ziva stopped and watched him walk into the house only then realising what the arrangement had been. As she watched the door close, her vision blurred and the world seemed to close in around her. She allowed herself to succumb to the haze. The paramedic managed to keep a hold of her as she went limp in his arms. A number of personnel rushed to his aid and she was quickly placed on a gurney and loaded onto the ambulance. Ducky was torn whether to stay for Jethro's sake or accompany Ziva to the hospital. He decided to travel with Ziva and climbed into the back of the ambulance. The doors were slammed shut and the ambulance took off at speed. He held her hand and spoke gently to her all throughout the journey.

As Gibbs entered the house with his hands raised he saw Tony kneeling on the floor with his hands behind his head. Lopez stepped from behind the door and stuck the gun in Gibbs' lower back. Gibbs raised his hands even higher. Lopez began to pat Gibbs down, searching for concealed weapons.

"Right hand pocket," Gibbs said with composure. Lopez reached in and removed the car keys. "Just like I promised," Gibbs remarked.

"Keep you hands behind your heads and get on your knees," Lopez ordered sounding a little jittery Gibbs noticed. Gibbs did exactly as he was told. No point antagonising him at this stage he thought. He knelt beside to Tony.

"Hey Boss," Tony said, struggling to hide his embarrassment about the whole situation.

"Nice job, DiNozzo," Gibbs said sarcastically. Tony decided not to take it to heart.

"You got a plan, Boss?" he whispered.

"Nope," Gibbs replied much to Tony's surprise. Tony presumed that Gibbs had a plan. Of course he had a plan, he always had a plan. He probably just didn't want to say anything in case Hernando overheard, he hoped! At that point Lopez threw Tony his own handcuffs.

"Cuff him," he said referring to Gibbs. Tony hesitated, none too happy about the idea but with the barrel of a Beretta aimed at his face he complied none the less. He took Gibbs uninjured arm and put one cuff on and then proceeded to cuff his hands in front of him.

"No, behind his back," Hernando insisted.

"Sorry Boss," Tony apologised as he pulled Gibbs injured arm behind his back and attached the second cuff. The action served as reminder to Gibbs of his injury. Up until then so much had been going on that he had forgotten about it. It felt uncomfortable and began to ache once more.

"Okay, we're going to the car. You will both walk in front of me. Funny man, you will drive," he said to DiNozzo. "You're friend here can ride in the back. On your feet," he ordered Gibbs. With a little help from Tony, Gibbs got to his feet. He looked out the front window and saw that Harris had pulled his men back as he had requested. The car was parked out at the kerb and no one stood in their path.

"If one of you tries anything, the other gets it. I mean it," Lopez warned as he pushed Tony towards the door. Gibbs followed with Lopez behind him. Gibbs eyes scanned the area. He could almost feel the sniper scopes zooming in on them. He hoped that none of Harris' men were trigger happy heroes looking to make a name for themselves. The three walked with hesitation towards the parked vehicle. Tony halted as they reached the passenger side of the car.

"Climb in across the passenger seat," Lopez told him. He didn't want Tony to walk around to the other side of the car in case he tried anything. Lopez opened the rear door of the car.

"Get in," he sad to Gibbs. Gibbs awkwardly sat into the car, his hands still cuffed behind his back. Lopez slammed the door and quickly jumped into the passenger seat, ensuring that his weapon was pointing directly at Tony.

"Well, here we are," Tony quipped. "All dressed up and no where to go." Lopez tossed the keys to Tony.

"Drive," he ordered.

"Well certainly, Sir. And where can I take you on his fine evening? I hear Florida is nice this time of year," Tony sneered in his usual jovial fashion. "It's so Driving Miss Daisy, not that you look anything like Jessica Tandy."

"Shut up and drive," Lopez shouted growing annoyed with Tony's antics.

"Yeah, DiNozzo, belt up!" Gibbs said from the back of the car.

Tony was surprised to hear Gibbs piping up from the back seat. Belt up? That wasn't a phrase Gibbs used he thought. "Shut it DiNozzo" or "Cut it out DiNozzo" maybe? More often than not he just glared at him but "Belt up"? Was he trying to tell him something? Suddenly it dawned on him, did he mean buckle up? A discreet glance over his shoulder at Gibbs confirmed it. Without drawing attention he quickly buckled his seat belt and started the car engine. Gibbs felt relieved that Tony had got the message and hoped that he understood what he wanted him to do.

As the car pulled away, Tony grew quiet. Lopez sat slightly twisted in the passenger seat, facing DiNozzo and keeping an eye on Gibbs. Gibbs tried to inconspicuously move himself to a position directly behind the driver seat. Unable to put on the seat belt with his hands cuffed he knew he would have to protect himself using other means. Tony followed the road to the main gate. He maintained a steady speed. His mind was racing. Could he be sure that this was what Gibbs had meant? He was none too impressed by the prospect and knew he had to do this right or they could all be killed. He realised that they one had a mile or so left until they got to the main gate. It would have to be sooner rather than later. He pressed slightly harder on the accelerator and the car speed increased subtly. Gibbs felt the increase and knew he had to brace himself. He wedged his knees into the back of DiNozzo's seat. DiNozzo shifted slightly as he felt the seat being pushed forward as a result. Close to the main gate, Tony saw a line of parked cars. He really hoped this worked.

Without warning he changed the direction of the car and aimed it directly for the parked cars. Lopez screamed at him to stop but it was already too late to do anything. Tony closed his eyes and waited for the impact. The sensation of being flung forward was the first sign that they had collided. Tony felt the seat belt tighten around his chest and shoulders just before he was hit in the face by the airbag. His face stung and then he thought he heard what sounded like a shot. As the airbag began to deflate Tony felt blood trickling from his nose. He opened his eyes and looked towards the passenger seat. Lopez was slumped against the dashboard, blood stains evident on the windscreen where he had obviously hit it. Then Tony remembered Gibbs in the back seat.

"Boss, are you alright?" he asked, trying to unbuckle his seat belt and turn around. There was no reply. Tony heart sank. He tugged and tugged at his seat belt until it finally opened. He tried to open his door but it was jammed. He twisted desperately to try and see Gibbs but he couldn't free his foot from the twisted and broken pedals of the car.

"Gibbs! Can you hear me?" he shouted a little louder than before. This time he was answered by a low groan. "Boss?"

"I'm okay, DiNozzo. You? Are you hit?" Gibbs wondered trying to take stock of the situation.

"Hit?"

"I heard a shot," Gibbs explained.

"Oh, I think he shot the airbag," Tony laughed. "My door's jammed and my foot is trapped," Tony informed him.

Gibbs was relieved to hear that Tony was relatively uninjured. As far as his injuries went he knew he had hit his head because he was still seeing stars. His ribs ached but he wasn't sure if they were just sore from the shooting a couple of days previously or he had hurt them again in the crash. Other than that, he felt pretty good considering. He was lying on his side on the passenger seat. He struggled to push himself into a sitting position. Before he knew it there were people swarming around the vehicle. One officer had the passenger door opened and was checking Lopez for a pulse. Another was at the rear door, shouting in to Gibbs.

"Sir, are you hurt Sir?" he asked as he tugged roughly to open the door.

"I'm okay, just get me out of these thing," Gibbs replied, turning to show him the handcuffs. The officer looked a little surprised to see him handcuffed and wondered if he was a prisoner of some sort. As he helped Gibbs from the car, the SUV carrying Lt. Commander Harris pulled up. Gibbs stood shakily as the officer called to an M.P. for keys for the handcuffs. Harris approached the dazed NCIS agent.

"Gibbs! Are you alright?" he asked noticing a bleeding gash on his left temple.

"I'll be fine, Harris," Gibbs snapped, growing tired of the same question. A paramedic clambered from the recently arrived ambulance and approached Gibbs. Gibbs didn't want a fuss. "I'm okay!" he insisted. "You'd better check on him," he said referring to Lopez. Gibbs limped slightly and held a gauze ti his forehead as he walked around to the driver side of the car. He peered in at DiNozzo and was taken aback when he saw the amount of blood staining his face and shirt.

"Hey Boss," Tony said when he noticed him.

"How are you doing, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, his fear mounting for his senior agent.

"Looks worse than it is, Boss. Just a bloodied nose. How's Lopez doing?" he asked turning towards the injured man next to him. A paramedic was leaning in and placing a neck brace on him and an oxygen mask over his face. The paramedic looked over at him.

"He's stable at the moment. We'll get a him on a back board and move him pretty soon," he told him.

"Anything broken?" Gibbs asked Tony leaning in the car window and looking down towards Tony's feet.

"I don't think so, I just can't get it out," he told his boss.

"Just hang in there, okay?" Gibbs said in support.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," Tony replied laughing.

It wasn't long before the fire department arrived with their cutting gear and started removing the door of the car. Tony chatted and joked with the fire men as they worked around him. He found the noise of the cutting gear unnerving but tried to maintain a brave face. Gibbs watched as they worked around him and noticed how Tony went pale and quiet as the jaws of life fired into action and cut away the metal that entrapped him. As they removed the metal pedals around his ankle that was trapping him, Tony cheered and thanked the fire crew. They helped him from the car over to the ambulance where Gibbs was sitting waiting. The paramedic put a support on Tony's ankle and assisted him onto the gurney. He told them that they both needed to get checked out at the hospital and remarkably neither of them argued. As the ambulance took off with the pair on board, their thoughts turned to Ziva.


	13. Chapter 13

The ambulance pulled up outside the Emergency Room and Gibbs and DiNozzo were helped inside. Much to the annoyance of the medical staff, Gibbs refused treatment until he had news on the condition of Agent David. He stormed over to the reception desk and stood there unsteadily until he found out what he needed to know. Tony was wheeled into a treatment area before being taken to have his ankle x-rayed.

By the time Tony returned to the curtained area, Gibbs was seated on a bed having the gash over his eye stitched.

"Hey, Boss! Any word on Ziva?" Tony wondered.

"She's in surgery. I've asked them to get a message to Ducky and tell him that we're here," Gibbs told him. "How's your ankle?"

"No fracture, just severe bruising. I'll be back in work in no time," Tony promised.

"There, you're all done," the pretty young doctor said looking up into his piercing blue eyes.

"Thanks," Gibbs said smiling kindly at her and shifting sorely to get off the bed. Just then Ducky appeared through the curtain.

"Good Lord, look at the pair of you," he exclaimed when he saw the bruised faces and bloodied clothes of the pair. "Are you alright?"

"We're fine, Duck. Any word on Ziva?" Gibbs asked eagerly.

"She was taken straight to surgery when we got here. I haven't had any word since," he told him. "I have heard from Abby though. She tells me that Timothy is being released from hospital in the morning. She was not impressed to hear that you were involved in this hostage situation. I won't repeat what she threatened to do to you when she next sees you," he laughed.

Gibbs couldn't help but smile. He could just picture Abby's fury on hearing that he had placed himself in danger once again. Yep, he was in for an ear bashing when he saw her, he thought. His smile faded quickly when he heard a familiar voice booming from the other side of the curtain. It was Director Vance.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Gibbs whispered, clearly not in the humour to deal with a reprimand from his boss at the moment.

"I'm sorry Jethro, I had to call him. I thought he should know that some of his agents had been injured," Ducky apologised. He knew when making the call that Gibbs would be unimpressed but he also knew that as Director of NCIS, Vance had a right to know what was going on. He felt it was his duty to inform him.

Gibbs shook his head, visibly disappointed with his friend. None the less, he realised that he would have to face the music sooner or later. It looked like it would be sooner. As he sat back onto the bed, the curtain was pulled back and a furious looking director appeared.

"Hello Director," Tony chirped cheekily, a stupid grin on his face. He was amused to see Gibbs sulking like a bold schoolboy. He was expecting fireworks. Vance looked like he was ready to explode.

"Gibbs! Why the hell did I hear about this from the doctor?" he demanded, as he stood tall over the two injured men.

"I was a little tied up," Gibbs replied curtly.

"It's true, Director. Handcuffed," Tony said, adding his two cents worth. Gibbs threw a lethal look in Tony's direction.

"Shut up, DiNozzo. I'll talk to _you_ later," Vance snapped. "Where do I start? Agents taken hostage and wounded, appointing yourself negotiator then offering yourself as a hostage, almost kill yourself, the suspect and Agent DiNozzo in a car crash, not to mention wilful damage of naval property! Jesus, Gibbs that was just in the last few hours!! Is there anything else?" Vance roared.

"We did crack the case," Gibbs replied smartly.

"Well I guess I should be thankful for small mercies then," Vance conceded. "So, are these two genuises gonna live, Doctor Mallard?" he asked as he started to calm slightly.

"Oh, they'll be fine in a week or two," Ducky replied. As he did, Gibbs got off the bed and began to put back on his jacket. "Where are you going, Jethro?" he wondered.

"Surgery," he replied as he brushed past Ducky and then Vance. Ducky trotted after him.

"I'll wait here then, shall I?" Tony shouted after them. He smiled awkwardly at Vance, a little humiliated that he received no reply. Vance just shook his head thoroughly bemused.

"Slow down, Jethro. Do you even know where you are going?" Ducky asked.

"Following the signs Duck," came the reply.

Gibbs and Ducky took the elevator to the fourth floor and Ducky directed Gibbs to the doors of the operating theatre where he had been instructed by the doctors to wait for news. They found a couple of chairs and sat. Gibbs was still a little mad at Ducky for calling the Director so there was little conversation between them.

"Okay, Jethro! For how long do I get the silent treatment this time?" Ducky asked, starting to get peeved by Gibbs' childishness.

"I would have called him, Duck," Jethro told him crossly.

"I know you would have. But I didn't know how things would turn out. For all I knew he had shot you both. Now imagine if I had to break that sort of news to Director Vance," Ducky explained.

Gibbs nodded and allowed himself a wry smile. He knew he was right. Ducky patted him on the back, glad that all was forgiven. The two friends sat restlessly waiting for news on Ziva. Eventually the double doors opened and a surgeon emerged from the theatre.

"Are you relatives of Ziva David?" he asked.

"Well not ….." Ducky began to say before Jethro interrupted.

"Yes!"

"She's doing fine. The bullet lodged close to her femur but managed to miss the bone. She lost a lot of blood but I'd expect her to make a full recovery. We'll be moving her to a room in a little while, so I'll get one of the nurses to come get you when she's settled in," he told them.

"Thank you, Doctor," Ducky said, relieved that the news was good. He had seen how weak she was as they travelled in the ambulance but deliberately neglected to tell Jethro of his grave concerns. As the surgeon left them, he turned to Gibbs. "That's good news, Jethro, isn't it?"

Gibbs never replied, he just sat back down on the seat and held his head in his hands.

"Are you feeling alright, Jethro?" Ducky asked knowing that Gibbs was concussed. Gibbs nodded. The truth was that he was struggling with his emotions as a wave of relief swept over him. Ducky realised what was going on and didn't push any further. He knew the man too well. Feelings, problems, things of a personal nature, Gibbs just didn't discuss. He had learnt to accept that a long time ago.

After sitting for close to an hour a nurse finally approached them and escorted them to Ziva's room. They entered quietly, fully expecting her to be asleep but to their surprise she was sitting up in bed. She looked a little groggy and pale but considering what she had just been through she looked much better than expected.

"My dear girl, it's good to see you up," Ducky exclaimed as he walked over and kissed her on the forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad. Better than when I last saw you," she smiled, glancing over at Gibbs. She wondered why he stood off at the end of the bed. Their eyes met for an instant but he broke the connection. She felt a pang of disappointment although she didn't really expect anything else, especially with Ducky standing beside her.

"She looks good, doesn't she Jethro?" Ducky said turning towards him.

He noticed an expression on Gibbs face that he had never seen before. It was as if he had switched off Gibbs the NCIS agent and just become Gibbs the man. He was still staring at Ziva, not passing any remarks on what Ducky had said. Then he suddenly walked to the other side of the bed and without warning put one hand behind Ziva's head, leaned in and kissed her passionately on the lips. Poor Ducky nearly fell out of his standing. Ziva just melted into the kiss. It felt right. It was what she had hoped for. However surprised by his actions Ducky and Ziva were, no one was more surprised than Gibbs himself. As he withdrew from the kiss he stood back and observed the reactions. Ziva, although shocked hadn't physically harmed him, so that was positive he thought. Ducky just stammered and struggled to find the words.

"I didn't……, I mean I don't….., when?" he uttered before giving up. Gibbs had to laugh and Ziva joined in. Eventually Ducky saw the funny side and also joined in. As the three were recovering their composure, the door to the room opened and in entered Tony on a wheelchair pushed by Director Vance.

"Hey, what did I miss?" he asked cheerily when he saw that they had all been laughing.

"Should we tell him?" Gibbs asked Ziva.

"Nah, let's play with this for a while," she said deviously.

"Oh fine, I will find out, won't I Ducky?" Tony said with a wink. Ducky shook his head and chuckled.

"So Officer David, how are you?" Vance asked instantly quelling the humorous atmosphere.

"Fine, thank you Director," she replied.

"Well it looks like I'll have a pile of paperwork on my desk tomorrow with agents looking for medical leave. I don't think I've ever had seen such a banged up team as yours Agent Gibbs. You must be so proud," Vance quipped sarcastically.

"I'm always proud of my team, Director," Gibbs replied with a nod of his head.

"Yes, well, I'll look forward to your report on this one when you get back," he said. "I hope you're feeling better soon, Officer David. I'll see _you_ in a week," he said turning back to Gibbs. A smile remained on Gibbs face throughout. He had never seen Gibbs with such a broad smile and found it disconcerting. As he left he was still trying to figure out what was going on.

"You know what, Boss? I feel a vacation coming on. Aruba sounds good," Tony said pushing himself closer to the group.

"You know, DiNozzo, for once you're making sense," Gibbs replied looking over at Ziva. "I'll book two tickets."

"Eh, boss, I didn't exactly mean you and me together," Tony stammered horrified at the thought of spending a week or two of vacation with Gibbs.

"Neither did I, DiNozzo," Gibbs laughed. "Neither did I."

**THE END**


End file.
